Frankfurt win Europa League

 Seville, May 20: Eintracht Frankfurt’s 42-year wait for a European trophy is over. The German club ended its title drought with a penalty shootout win over Rangers in the Europa League final on Wednesday.

Goalkeeper Kevin Trapp came up with a big save at the end of extra time and another in the shootout to help give Frankfurt the 5-4 win on penalties. The game ended 1-1 after regulation and extra time.

Colombia striker Rafael Borré, who scored a second-half equalizer for Frankfurt, converted the decisive penalty to clinch the club’s first European trophy since the 1980 UEFA Cup, a predecessor to the Europa League. The win also secures a first appearance in the Champions League next season for Frankfurt.

“It feels incredible,” Trapp said. “I’m trying to catch my breath still. For us, for Frankfurt, for the region. For the whole of Germany I think it’s a wonderful thing. To be able to give back to our fans this way is so special.”

Trapp, a former Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper, made a key save in the final minutes of extra time by stretching out a leg to stop a close-range shot by Ryan Kent. The veteran goalkeeper used his left leg to stop Aaron Ramsey’s penalty in the shootout, setting off huge celebrations by Frankfurt’s “white wall” of fans behind the opposite goal.

Joe Aribo gave Rangers the lead in the 57th minute and Borré equalized in the 69th for Frankfurt, which became the third team to go through the Europa League unbeaten after Chelsea in 2019 and Villarreal in 2021.

Ramsey, the former Arsenal and Juventus midfielder, entered the match in the final minutes of extra time to be in the shootout. Christopher Lenz, Ajdin Hrustic, Daichi Kamada and Filip Kostic also converted penalties for Frankfurt, while James Tavernier, Steven Davis, Scott Airfield and Kemar Roofe found the net for Rangers in the shootout.

Rangers coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst said Kent’s miss made the difference.

“You have to score those, especially in the last minutes,” he said. Rangers was trying to win its first European title since the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1972. The Scottish club also lost to Zenit St. Petersburg in the 2008 UEFA Cup. It was trying to cap a comeback 10 years after it was sent to the lower divisions because of a financial meltdown.

Frankfurt will return to the top flight of European competition for the first time since 1960, when it lost in the European Cup final to Real Madrid in Glasgow. AP