‘To let everyone down is just heartbreaking’
Rangers midfielder John Lundstram admitted that it was ‘heartbreaking’ to ‘let the Rangers fans down’ after the Scottish side suffered defeat in the Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
The reigning Scottish champions were competing in their first European final for 14 years and were hoping to secure their first continental trophy since 1972.
After a cagey first half, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side grabbed the final’s opening goal in the 57th minute through Joe Aribo. The Rangers man made the most of a defensive error and calmly converted from close range.
However, Frankfurt hit back just 12 minutes later through Rafael Santos Borré, with the Colombian forward finding space in-between the Rangers defence.
Neither team was able to find a winner in normal time, which forced the game to extra-time. Both teams pushed for a winner, but it was evident that both sets of players were physically exhausted.
The clash went to penalties, with the spot-kicks taken in front of the Gers supporters. The shootout started well for Van Bronckhorst’s men, but former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey – who came on as a substitute in extra-time – missed his penalty, which gave Frankfurt goalscorer Santos Borré the chance to win the final with his spot-kick.
After the match, former Sheffield United midfielder Lundstram suggested that it was ‘heartbreaking’ to lose the final on penalties.
“To let everyone down is just heartbreaking.”
John Lundstram on defeat in Seville… 😔
🎙 @Sports_EmmaD #UELfinal pic.twitter.com/DcPBb2DxNG
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 18, 2022
“It’s a hard one to take, to lose on penalties. I thought we could’ve played better. It’s hard to perform on a big stage like this, it’s nervous for everyone. It’s a lottery, anyone could’ve missed,” he said.
“To let everyone down is heartbreaking.”
He added: “We can all be super-proud of what we’ve done to get this far, but it’s heartbreaking, I can’t even put it into words. So, so, so heartbroken.”
Rangers will need to recover from their Europa League heartbreak quickly as they face off against Hearts in the Scottish Cup final on Saturday afternoon.
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