HIS goal kick-started a wild night of partying in Glasgow…
After a 2-0 loss in the first leg of Champions League qualifying against Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, Rangers looked unlikely to make the premier league playoffs. But on Tuesday evening, the Scots surpassed themselves and won 3-0.
Bayern loan Malik Tillman (20), who joined the team just three weeks ago, scored the decisive goal.
Drama in der Champions League
Crazy Eindhoven party in overtime
Source: Sportdigital
The Belgian goalkeeper, Anthony Moris (32), completely misjudged a high cross from the left. Tillman jumped higher than the goalkeeper and headed the ball into the goal twelve minutes before the end. The jubilation at Ibrox Stadium knew no bounds afterwards.
Tillman switched from Greuther Fürth to Bayern seven years ago. He went through the youth teams with the record champions, and last season he even played in four Bundesliga games under coach Julian Nagelsmann (35). In July, he was loaned to Scotland, where he should get more match practice.
After the game he gushed to the club’s own channel “Rangers TV” about an “incredible feeling”. Tillman was aware that his decisive goal meant a lot for the club. Rangers last played in the Champions League twelve years ago. The longing to return to the premier class is huge in the club and environment, now only the last step is missing.
The play-offs are played over two legs on August 16 and 24 against Holland club PSV Eindhoven, who beat AS Monaco in extra time on Tuesday night. The winner of this pairing qualifies for the group stage. The starting shot for this season is September 6th. Then there could be a quick reunion with FC Bayern for Tillman – should the last hurdle be cleared.
However, fans of the national team shouldn’t get their hopes up that they’ll see Malik Tillman playing in DFB kit anytime soon. In May he decided to play for the USA, his father’s country of birth.
