Ferencváros (FTC) came from behind to defeat visiting Glasgow Rangers 2–1 in Thursday’s sixth-round match of the UEFA Europa League league phase, sealing qualification for the knockout stage and virtually ensuring advancement to the round of 16.
The Scottish side took the lead through a goal by Bojan Miovski, who previously also played in Hungary. However, FTC managed to equalize before the break thanks to a strike from Bence Ötvös. The winning goal, which completed the comeback, was scored by Barnabás Varga with a header in the second half.
With this result, head coach Robbie Keane’s team has collected 14 points from six rounds and took a major step toward reaching the round of 16. They have already guaranteed progression from the league phase to the knockout stage.
FTC now stands in sixth place, just one point behind the leading trio — Lyon, Midtjylland, and Aston Villa.
Robbie Keane, head coach of Ferencváros, said that both the starters and the substitutes “played brilliantly” on Thursday night. At the post-match press conference, the 45-year-old Irish coach said he was especially happy about the win because he felt his players were dominant throughout.
In response to a question from MTI, he added that it was very important to equalize before halftime , as he “definitely” wanted to avoid going into the dressing room a goal down.
“I think we deserved it, since we could have been up by two early in the match. Yusuf had big chances, unfortunately they did not go in,” the Hungarian champions’ coach summarized. He highlighted that in the second half they were better than their opponents all the way through, hence their victory was fully deserved.
I think it is a huge achievement that we are unbeaten after six matches, especially considering how much smaller our budget is compared to our Europa League opponents,”
he emphasized.
Ferencváros will host Greek side Panathinaikos in the next round on January 22.
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Hegedüs Róbert
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