A Cyriel Dessers double took Rangers past Hearts in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-final to set up an Old Firm final.
The enigmatic Gers striker slid in the opener after five minutes and then sealed the victory in the 78th minute for a 2-0 win, leaving the Tynecastle club still searching for their first win over the Ibrox side at Hampden Park.
For the most part, it was a far from sparkling performance from Philippe Clement’s side who have gone off the boil in recent weeks.
Nevertheless, Rangers will meet Celtic in the May 25 final at the national stadium by which time we will know which of the Old Firm clubs have won their cinch Premiership title race, which the Hoops are leading by three points with five fixtures remaining.
Both sides had a lot to live up to after Saturday’s epic semi-final between Celtic and Aberdeen which the Hoops won 6-5 on penalties after a 3-3 draw but in the event it had less excitement and less quality.
The Jambos had lost four times to Rangers this season, once in the Viaplay Cup semi-final at the national stadium, and had not beaten the Light Blues in their last 17 attempts.
The statistics – but not Rangers’ recent form – pointed to another Gers victory.
The Ibrox side went into the game with just two wins in eight in all competitions and the pressure was on Clement and his players.
The Belgian boss boldly omitted Connor Goldson, who had played in 48 of Rangers’ 52 games this season, with Leon Balogun, Mohamed Diomande, Rabbi Matondo and Dessers returning.
Hearts, sitting in third place in the league with one defeat in seven, showed three changes with Stephen Kingsley, Alan Forrest and Kenneth Vargas starting.
Dessers missed the first chance in the third minute when he knocked a cross from Abdallah Sima over the bar as Tynecastle defender Frankie Kent challenged.
However, when Gers midfielder Todd Cantwell set him up inside the Gorgie box he confidently dragged the ball to his left past Nathaniel Atkinson and steered it low past veteran Jambos keeper Craig Gordon for his 18th of the season.
The goal settled the Ibrox men but they suffered a blow after just 15 minutes when winger Ross McCausland replaced the injured Sima.
The change seemed to disrupt Rangers and keeper Jack Butland had to make terrific saves from Forrest and Kent in quick succession, although Kent appeared offside at his close-range effort.
The Gorgie side began to exert more control towards the interval, pushing Rangers backwards and in the 51st minute Vargas robbed hesitating Gers defender John Souttar on the touchline and drove into the box but there were enough Light Blue jerseys back to defend.
The Edinburgh side were in control.
Hearts brought on Dexter Lembikisa, Barrie McKay and Yutaro Oda for Forrest, Jorge Grant and Atkinson just on the hour mark before Fabio Silva took over from the ineffective Matondo, before Dessers could not set himself for a shot after taking a Cantwell pass 10 yards from goal.
In the 73rd minute Hearts skipper Lawrence Shankland hit the side-netting with a header as the Tynecastle men piled forward.
However, in a swift Gers attack, Dessers settled the tie.
A powerful run by Cantwell had the Gorgie defence backpedalling and when he laid the ball off to the Gers striker his first shot was blocked by Gordon but he made no mistake when collecting the rebound.
With two minutes remaining Dessers set up Silva for a tap-in but the Portuguese attacker somehow managed to fall over the ball six yards out before Butland made a fantastic save to ensure there were no late Rangers nerves, with time for Dessers to miss another opportunity on the break.
Hoffenheim 1-1 RB Leipzig: Kramaric denies visitors after Simons red card
Andrej Kramaric scored a last-minute equaliser to deny RB Leipzig victory in Friday's 1-1 Bundesliga draw at Hoffenheim, in a game which saw Xavi Simons sent off.
Simons was shown his second yellow card with 18 minutes to play, with fourth-placed Leipzig 1-0 up courtesy of Benjamin Sesko's first-half header.
Marco Rose's team looked set to leapfrog Stuttgart into third ahead of Saturday's fixtures, but Kramaric – who had earlier been denied by a huge double save from Peter Gulasci – salvaged a point for the hosts with stoppage time mere seconds away.
While Leipzig missed the chance to move eight points clear of fifth-placed Borussia Dortmund, both teams will be playing Champions League football next season after Germany clinched a top-two place in UEFA's coefficient rankings this week.
Data Debrief: Flying full-back creates again
David Raum assisted Sesko's opener with a pinpoint cross, the eighth goal he has teed up in the Bundesliga this season. Seven of those have been headers, a joint-high tally among all players, alongside Borussia Monchengladbach's Franck Honorat.
Luton Town 1-1 Everton: Hatters squander opportunity to climb out of relegation zone
Luton Town missed an inviting chance to escape the Premier League's bottom three after Friday's hard-fought 1-1 draw with Everton at Kenilworth Road.
Rob Edwards' side would have leapfrogged 17th-placed Nottingham Forest – who visit Sheffield United on Saturday – with a victory, but were instead left level on points with Nuno Espirito Santo's team.
The fit-again Elijah Adebayo cancelled out Dominic Calvert-Lewin's 24th-minute penalty in an entertaining first half, though neither side could find a winner in an end-to-end second period.
Despite an encouraging performance, Luton – who almost snatched a late victory – stay 18th and below Forest on goal difference, while Everton remain 15th in the table.
A tense opening offered few opportunities as Dwight McNeil's left-wing cross deflected off Teden Mengi and forced Thomas Kaminski into a smart reflex stop, but Everton hit the front soon after.
VAR David Coote recommended a pitch-side review before referee Tim Robinson awarded a penalty for a needless Mengi pull on Jarrad Branthwaite's shirt from McNeil's corner, with Calvert-Lewin squeezing his spot-kick under Kaminski.
Yet Luton responded after 31 minutes when Adebayo ushered Ashley Young out of the way from Albert Sambi Lokonga's hanging delivery before swivelling to finish into the bottom-left corner.
Clear-cut chances remained sparse before Carlton Morris' looping header from Alfie Doughty's pinpoint back-post delivery was headed off the line by Ben Godfrey on the stroke of half-time.
Gabriel Osho curled a bending effort narrowly wide of Jordan Pickford's left-hand post shortly after the interval, while former Toffee Ross Barkley headed over from Tahith Chong's left-wing centre.
Jack Harrison's deflected effort almost caught Luton off-guard, though, as Kaminski produced an eye-catching stop before denying a thumping Calvert-Lewin header.
Luton laid siege to Everton's area in stoppage time, but the Toffees clung on, Pickford turning Luke Berry's header wide before a heroic Branthwaite block denied Andros Townsend a last-gasp winner against his former club.
Luton entertain without victory
Prior to Friday's match, Luton had won just one of their last 14 Premier League games (three draws, 10 defeats), with no side picking up fewer points than the Hatters since the start of this run (six).
Edwards' winless misery was further compounded when Mengi's mindless foul on Branthwaite afforded Everton their opener, yet Luton responded to keep their hopes of Premier League safety alive and cement their status among the competition's entertainers.
Luton have both scored and conceded in 29 of their 36 Premier League games this season, a joint-record by any side in a single campaign in the competition, along with Swindon Town in 1993-94 and Southampton in 1994-95.
Everton not resting on laurels
Everton could have been forgiven for letting this game pass them by, having already secured their top-flight status with three straight victories over Forest, Liverpool and Brentford.
Yet the Toffees started well and were good value for their lead as Calvert-Lewin scored his fourth goal in his last five Premier League appearances, as many as he managed in his previous 38.
Some disappointing defending for Adebayo's leveller may frustrate Sean Dyche, but his side still made it four games unbeaten since their 6-0 hammering at Chelsea in the middle of April.
Everyone wants to beat Leverkusen, says Alonso ahead of Frankfurt clash
Bayer Leverkusen continue to edge towards a remarkable unbeaten season and Xabi Alonso acknowledged every club wants to put that run to an end.
The newly-crowned Bundesliga champions moved a step closer to a treble after beating Roma 2-0 away in their Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday.
Alonso's side have also reached the DFB-Pokal final against Kaiserslautern as their extraordinary 47-game unbeaten run continues across all competitions.
Leverkusen, who ended Bayern Munich's 11-year stranglehold on the Bundesliga title to secure their first trophy since 1993, travel to sixth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
"We want to stay unbeaten and we know every week it gets tougher. Everyone wants to beat us," Alonso told reporters.
"It hasn't been easy in Frankfurt in recent years, they've always a tough opponent with a flexible system of play. We don't have much time to prepare."
The 42-year-old Spaniard will be watching the Frankfurt game from the stands after receiving his fourth yellow card of the season during his side's 2-2 home draw with Stuttgart last week.
"You can see the game better from the stands and I can communicate with the bench," he said.
"I will miss the direct contact with the team during the game but the players are intelligent enough to decide situations individually on the pitch."
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