In 2022, in the Europa League final, it was extremely difficult to single out a favorite.
Eintracht and Rangers were not among the main contenders for the trophy before the start of the playoffs and got to it rather in spite of.
Experiencing serious problems in the national championship, the Germans miraculously passed Barcelona and left the strong Betis and West Ham out of work, while the Scots created two sensations at once.
First, they took advantage of the absence of Erling Haaland and defeated Borussia Dortmund, and in the semi-finals they made a comeback in the confrontation with Leipzig.
At the same time, the teams approached the face-to-face confrontation not in perfect condition.
Eintracht Frankfurt lost their main central defender Martin Hinteregger, as a result of which nominally right-back Almami Toure took a place in the central three.
But at the disposal of Oliver Glasner were both lateral Danny da Costa and attacking midfielder Jesper Lindström.
The Dane was injured in the second leg against Leipzig, and his participation in the final was in doubt until the last moment.
But in the end, he not only got into the application, but even entered the field from the first minutes.
On either side of him are the super-talented Ansgar Knauff and one of the top scorers of the tournament, Daichi Kamada, and on the edge is Rafael Borre, who scored points in the last three matches.
As for the Rangers, the main problem was the lack of clean forwards.
Alfredo Morelos was out with a hip injury, while Kemar Ruf had just recovered from a hip injury and hadn't had time to get back in shape.
As a result, Giovanni van Bronkhorst decided to do without a center forward and sent nominal center back Joe Aribo to the position of false nine.
To the left of him is Ryan Kent, and to the right is Scott Wright.
One of the main intrigues was whether the Dutch coach would dare to take the risk again and "mirror" the enemy's defensive scheme.
In meetings with Leipzig, he unexpectedly made a bet on the three central defenders, although the light blues usually prefer to play with a pair.
But this time it didn't happen.
The beginning of the first half was not the richest in dangerous moments, but it was almost marked by an injury to the Eintracht captain.
John Landstrom raised his leg too high and cut Sebastian Rode's head with spikes.
He lay on the lawn for more than three minutes, receiving help from doctors, but in the end he was still able to return to the game.
And it was from that moment that the dominance of the Frankfurters on the field of the Ramon Sanchez Pisjuan stadium began.
By the 30th minute, Glasner's wards managed to inflict ten times more shots on goal than the opponents (10:1) and had several good chances to excel.
First, Kamada outwitted two defenders and pierced the ball towards the target, then Knauff broke through on the right flank and powerfully shot into the near.
And after that, the leader of the nominal owners became more active.
First, Filip Kostic struck a powerful volley from outside the penalty area, and then almost took advantage of James Tavernier's blunder in someone else's penalty area.
The best scorer of the Europa League unsuccessfully performed a header and organized a counterattack of the opponents.
The Serb made a dash for 50 meters and rolled into the distance, but missed a little.
The Rangers came to their senses only in the final third of the half.
At first, the pressure did not work for them, there were no quick transitions to the attack, and even Tavernier did little.
Until the 30th minute, the Scots could only boast of a long-range shot by Aribo, after which the ball whistled inches from the bar.
In the end, they managed to seize the initiative a little, but they managed to disturb Kevin Trapp only after playing the standard.
The leader of the “light blues” found Landstrom in the penalty area, but the German goalkeeper easily averted the threat.
The second half began with a bright fire show, which was organized by Eintracht fans in the stands outside McGregor's goal.
And Glasner's wards took it as a call to action.
In the first seven minutes, they created three dangerous chances and almost earned a 11-meter penalty.
From a distance, defender Tuta and Lindström, who suddenly joined the attack, broke through, and then Borre fell into the opponent's penalty area.
Contact with Connor Goldson took place, but neither the chief referee Slavko Vincic, nor the video assistants saw a violation of the rules.
The Rangers' response was immediate.
But if Kent almost took advantage of Knauff's oversight, then Aribo was merciless.
Sow performed an extremely uncomfortable backward pass, and Tuta not only failed to get to the ball first, but also fell to the lawn, having lost the opportunity to prevent the Nigerian from going one on one.
And he did not blunder, catching Trapp who came out of the gate by surprise.
It is difficult to say what provoked the replacement - an injury or dissatisfaction with the head coach, but the next minute Tuta left the field, giving way to 38-year-old defensive midfielder Makoto Haseba.
And Eintracht rushed forward with all its might.
But at first, all the emotions of the "eagles" went to trying to beg for a penalty.
They were sure that the ball after hitting Lindström hit Calvin Bassey's hand, but the replay denied this.
They managed to organize a truly dangerous episode a little later.
A spectacular "parachute" in the penalty area on Kamada reached the addressee, but the Japanese went a little too far, trying to transfer McGregor.
But two minutes later, Eintracht still equalized the score.
Kostic did a great job with the opponents on the flank and executed a perfect cross into the penalty area, to which Borre responded.
The Colombian freed himself from Bassey's tutelage and found himself right between the two Rangers centre-backs before jabbing the ball into the net.
After that, the game calmed down.
The teams obviously did not want to take risks and spent the rest of the main time with an eye on defense.
Although the moments still arose, and it was at the possession of McGregor.
First, Jens Hauge, who came on as a substitute, hit the crossbar much higher, and then Kostic “shot” towards the target.
It is difficult to say whether he hit or tried to find Kamada with a pass - the ball did not touch anyone and flew over the front.
An additional 30 minutes was also not enough to determine the winner.
At first, Eintracht looked stronger: Borre was breaking through to McGregor's goal, Aidin Khrustic and Kristian Yakic, who had left the bench, were beating from a distance.
However, the Rangers were closer to the goal.
And it was van Bronkhorst's decision to release Ruf, who had just recovered from an injury, that changed everything.
He appeared in the 117th minute and almost decided the outcome of the confrontation in the first attack.
It was his transfer to the goalkeeper from the front line that could have been effective, if not for the incredible Trapp.
Kevin made a miraculous save, and already in stoppage time again saved his partners.
Tavernier struck just under the crossbar from a free kick, but the German bailed out.
Thus, the fate of the trophy was decided in a penalty shootout.
And at first, the players of both teams showed fantastic calmness.
Tavernier and Christopher Lenz hit without a chance for goalkeepers, Steven Davis got into the top nine, and after Kamada's strike, the ball ricocheted off the post into the net.
But with the score 3:3, Aaron Ramsey approached the point.
The Welshman failed a stage of his career at Juventus, and being unnecessary in Turin, went on loan to Glasgow.
But even there he did not have a permanent place in the squad - only 13 matches in six months and 633 minutes of playing time in total.
And it was he who became the only one who could not deal with the counterpart.
The midfielder rolled right in the center, and Trapp made a key save with his feet.
Kostic and Borra had only to consolidate the result.
Eintracht Frankfurt defeated Rangers in the Europa League final to win the international trophy for the first time since 1980.
The Scots were heartbroken.
In the year of the club's 150th anniversary, they again lost in the decisive match - just like 14 years ago.
True, Zenit resolved all issues in regular time.