Spaniard Nacho Novo scored the winning spot kick as Rangers beat Fiorentina 4-2 in Florence, Italy on penalties on Thursday to reach the UEFA Cup final.
Fiorentina's Fabio Liverani and Christian Vieri missed their spot-kicks, after their semi-final second leg ended 0-0, like the first leg.
Rangers captain Barry Ferguson had his opening penalty saved by Fiorentina keeper Sebastien Frey, but Steven Whittaker, Sasa Papac, Brahim Hemdani and forward Novo made no mistake.
Midfielders Zdravko Kuzmanovic and Riccardo Montolivo converted their spot-kicks for the home side.
Rangers had substitute Daniel Cousin sent off for a second yellow in the second period of extra time.
The game followed the same plot as the first leg, with Fiorentina dominating possession but unable to find a scoring way.
Montolivo had the first shot on target in the 20th minute, but his strike was too central to trouble Rangers keeper Neil Alexander.
The visitors then survived scares when Alexander fumbled a Massimo Gobbi cross, Papac cleared a Montolivo ball into the box and Mutu had a sweet strike charged down.
Fiorentina continued to make the running after the break.
The Serie A side should have scored when a Liverani free kick sparked a goalmouth scramble, but substitute Vieri slipped over the ball a metre from the line.
Victory for Rangers avenged a defeat by Fiorentina in the 1961 Cup Winners' Cup final and gave the Glasgow club the chance to add to their 1972 triumph in the same competition.
Source: Xinhua
|