Rangers fight back twice to earn a point at Villarreal as Celtic leave it late against Rosenborg
Europa League review: Both Rangers and Celtic enjoyed encouraging nights in Europe's second-tier competition
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Your support makes all the difference.Kyle Lafferty's first ever European goal handed Rangers a hugely impressive 2-2 draw in their Europa League opener with Villarreal.
Steven Gerrard's team were hoping to become the first Ibrox side to triumph away from home against Spanish opposition as they made their group-stage return after eight years in the Uefa wilderness.
They did not quite manage that but did deliver a display of grit and endeavour to kick-off their Group G campaign with a precious point at El Madrigal.
Carlos Bacca and Gerard Moreno twice had LaLiga side Villarreal ahead but the Light Blues refused to buckle, with Scott Arfield netting ahead of Lafferty's maiden goal in continental club competition.
Gerrard sprang a selection shock before kick-off as defender Nikola Katic was dropped despite having barely putting a foot wrong since signing from Slaven Belupo this summer.
Joe Worrall got the nod instead as he was handed a surprise debut but the Nottingham Forest loanee could not have got off to a worse start.
The 21-year-old was making his first start for almost six months after finding himself frozen out by Aitor Karanka at the City Ground and he looked rusty as he allowed the ball to ricochet off his body into Bacca's path.
The Colombian reacted brilliantly as the ball sat up perfectly just outside the box, arcing a stunning hit over Allan McGregor for the opener just 44 seconds in.
Villarreal boss Javier Calleja had tinkered with his own line-up, bringing former Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla back into a side amid nine changes to the team which picked up their first win of the season against Leganes on Sunday.
The 33-year-old and midfield accomplice Nicola Sansone were pulling the strings with effortless ease, forcing Gers to scramble for cover.
Little by little, Rangers grew in confidence as Villarreal allowed them time to pick some passes - although the Yellow Submarine always looked capable of sinking their guests on the counter.
Ex-Everton anchorman Ramiro Funes Mori should have done better after he was allowed to slip his marker and get on the end of a Cazorla corner.
Cazorla brought out a smart stop from McGregor just before the change of ends and the Scotland keeper had to be alert in the early moments after the break, making three timely interventions as the Spaniards turned up the heat.
Gerrard would have been pleased with his side's overall showing, with only a quality final ball missing.
But they got it after 67 minutes as James Tavernier charged into the box. Ruiz got a tackle in but Daniel Candeias was on hand to clip the ball back in for Arfield to sweep home from close range.
However, no team has won more games or scored more goals in the Europa League than Villarreal and they showed why as they immediately clicked up a gear as substitute Moreno charged past Barisic before rifling past McGregor to regain the lead within two minutes of the equaliser.
But again Rangers refused to let their heads sink and hit back again with quarter of an hour left.
Barisic charged down the left before cutting back for Lafferty, who tucked home to the delight of the 2,200 travelling Gers supporters.
The drama continued into stoppage time as first Arfield came close to a dramatic winner before it was Gers turn to endure a last-gasp scare as Bocca failed to convert at the back-post.
CELTIC 1-0 ROSENBORG
Leigh Griffiths climbed off the bench to score a dramatic late winner for Celtic in their Europa League Group B opener against old foes Rosenborg at Parkhead.
The Hoops had knocked the Norwegian outfit out of the Champions League qualifiers earlier in the season and indeed last year.
That familiarity appeared to contribute to an insipid first 45 minutes which ended with visiting keeper Andre Hansen touching a shot from Odsonne Edouard on to the outside of the post.
The Scottish champions continued their struggle in the second half until the 87th minute when Griffiths, on for Edouard, headed in a Dedryck Boyata knock down for a 1-0 win and three points that had looked like escaping them.
***
In Chelsea's group Belarus side BATE beat Hungarians MOL Vidi 2-0, while Sporting Lisbon secured a 2-0 win over Qarabag of Azerbaijan in Arsenal's group.
The other game in Rangers' group saw Rapid Vienna defeat Spartak Moscow 2-0, while in Celtic's Red Bull Salzburg won the 'Red Bull derby' 3-2 at RB Leipzig.
AC Milan only had a Gonzalo Higuain goal to show for their trip to Luxembourg, running out narrow 1-0 winners against F91 Dudelange. Group F rivals Olympiakos and Real Betis drew 0-0.
Ever Banega and Wissam Ben Yedder scored two apiece as Sevilla racked up a thumping 5-1 win over Standard Liege.
The Spaniards top Group J from Krasnodar after the Russian side downed Turkey's Akhisarspor 1-0.
An early Luis Alberto goal and a late Ciro Immobile penalty gave Lazio a 2-1 triumph over Cypriots Apollon Limassol while elsewhere in Group H Marseille were beaten 2-1 by Eintracht Frankfurt.
Dynamo Kiev were held 2-2 by Kazakhstan side FC Astana while an injury-time goal from Hatem Ben Arfa gave Rennes a 2-1 victory at home to Czech outfit FK Jablonec.
In Group A Bayer Leverkusen had to come from 2-0 down to beat Bulgarian side Ludogorets 3-2 and Zurich won 1-0 at AEK Larnaca of Cyprus.
FC Copenhagen drew 1-1 with Zenit St Petersburg and Slavia Prague beat Bordeaux 1-0 in Group C.
Dinamo Zagreb thumped Fenerbahce 4-1 in Group D with Spartak Trnava of Slovakia sinking Anderlecht 1-0.
Group I saw Besiktas sink Norwegians Sarpsborg 08 3-1 and Genk beat Malmo 2-0.
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