Europa League: Rangers FC crash out to Olayinka’s Slavia Prague

What has been a phenomenal season for Leon Balogun at Scottish club Rangers FC turned a bit sour on Thursday in the Europa League as his team lost to Peter Olayinka’s Slavia Prague 3-1 on aggregate and he got sent off for two yellow cards.

Balogun got his marching orders in the 73rd minute after he committed a second bookable offence having been booked earlier in the 18th minute.

Apart from Balogun, another Rangers player, Keemar Roofe, was also sent off in Thursday’s tie.

The match degenerated into fisticuffs after the final whistle in the tunnel after Rangers’ Glen Kamara accused one of the Slavia players of racist abuse.

According to Opta, this is the first time Rangers have had two players sent off in a single game in a major European competition.

Interestingly, while Balogun ended up as a villain in his side’s loss, another Nigerian, Peter Olayinka, was one of the heroes for his Czech club; scoring the opening goal at Ibrox which largely unsettled Rangers and ultimately culminated in their ouster.

Thursday’s goal was Olayinka’s third in the Europa League this season and his 10th across all competitions this season.

Elsewhere, Samuel Chukuweze bagged an assist as Villarreal marched into the Europa League quarter-final with another 2-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv for a 4-0 aggregate win.

Manchester United also overcame the big hurdle in Italy as they pipped AC Milan 1-0 to progress into the quarter-final.