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VfB Stuttgart 1 - 1 Rangers

Rangers turned in an improved second half display to earn a point

Rangers opened their Champions League campaign with a very creditable draw in Stuttgart thanks to a cracking goal from Madjid Bougherra.

Pavel Pogrebniak found the net with a powerfully placed shot on 18 minutes as Rangers were caught out on the break.

Sasa Papac made a mess of a close-range header as the visitors improved dramatically after the interval.

Bougherra romped forward to smash in a wonderful equaliser on 77 minutes and Steven Davis clipped the post late on.

Rangers had no answer to the pace and energy of the home team in a torrid first 45 minutes but emerged from the break with more discipline and purpose.

And a point away from home was just reward for the visitors, who finished the game at the Mercedes Benz Arena much the stronger side.

Stuttgart sit 12th in the Bundesliga after five games but did not look like a team short on confidence as they tore through the Rangers midfield with ease in the opening stages.

Allan McGregor had to make a smart save inside the first minute to keep out a fierce Cacau strike, while Thomas Hitzlsperger hooked the rebound over the crossbar.

Dropping off hulking target man Pogrebniak, Cacau was causing problems for a flat Rangers defence, which had Lee McCulloch at its heart, deputising for injured skipper David Weir.

The Brazilian-born forward was presented with a good chance when McGregor flapped at a corner but the Ibrox keeper stuck out a foot to divert the shot wide.

The home side's incessant pressure paid off when Cacau charged down an attempted clearance from Papac near the halfway line and broke at speed to tee up Pogrebnyak, who slammed a powerful shot beyond McGregor from 15 yards.

With Kevin Thomson and Pedro Mendes anonymous in central midfield and McCulloch ponderous at the back, Cacau again found space in behind the visitors but could only fire into the side-netting.

There was a further scare for Walter Smith's side seconds before the interval when Pogrebnyak hammered a shot against the crossbar but the Russian international had strayed offside.

Rangers were presented with a glorious opportunity to level at the start of the second half when Papac stole in to meet a Jerome Rothen cross but the Bosnian defender skewed his header horribly wide from six yards.

With the Ibrox side showing more bite up front, Kenny Miller wriggled through a number of challenges before he was eventually crowded out.

However, Rangers were still vulnerable to the swift Stuttgart attacks and Roberto Hilbert and Cacau both fizzed shots off target.

A misplaced, dipping delivery from Rothen almost caught Jens Lehmann out and the former Arsenal keeper was relieved as the ball spun off the base of his post and away to safety.

The veteran German international was similarly confused when beaten by a fantastic goal from Bougherra.

The big Algerian charged out of defence to link up with Rothen and smashed an unstoppable shot home from the edge of the penalty area.

A lightening counter-attack saw Miller feed Steven Naismith 18 yards from goal but the midfielder's shot was blocked by Lehmann after a poor touch from the Rangers man.

And Rangers nearly snatched all three points in the last few minutes when Davis steered a raking strike against the outside of the post from 20 yards out.

Live text and stats

Wednesday, 16 September 2009

Champions League

VFB STUTTGART

RANGERS

Possession

• VfB Stuttgart 56%
• Rangers 44%

Attempts on target

• VfB Stuttgart 10
• Rangers 4

Attempts off target

• VfB Stuttgart 8
• Rangers 3

Corners

• VfB Stuttgart 6
• Rangers 3

Fouls

• VfB Stuttgart 7

• Rangers 8

• Final Result

• Full Time

• 90:00+4:34 The final whistle is blown by the referee.

• 90:00+4:08 Foul by Arthur Boka on Nacho Novo, free kick awarded. Steven Whittaker restarts play with the free kick.

• 90:00+2:48 Substitution Kenny Miller goes off and Nacho Novo comes on.

• 90:00+1:43 Serdar Tasci fouled by Lee McCulloch, the ref awards a free kick. Free kick crossed by Thomas Hitzlsperger.

• 90:00+0:51 Sami Khedira takes a shot. Save by Allan McGregor.

• Correction - 88:58 Steven Davis has an effort at goal from just outside the area hitting the post.

• 88:58 Shot from just outside the box by Steven Davis misses to the left of the goal.

• 87:38 Corner from right by-line taken by Thomas Hitzlsperger.

• 87:17 Substitution Julian Schieber comes on in place of Jeronimo Baretto Cacau.

• 87:11 The ball is delivered by Roberto Hilbert, clearance made by Kenny Miller.

• 87:03 Pavel Pogrebniak takes a shot. Blocked by Madjid Bougherra.

• 86:04 Steven Davis gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Pavel Pogrebniak. Direct free kick taken by Thomas Hitzlsperger.

• 83:36 Steven Naismith takes a shot. Save by Jens Lehmann.

• 82:40 Free kick awarded for a foul by Pedro Mendes on Sami Khedira. Thomas Hitzlsperger shoots direct from the free kick.

• 77:48 Sami Khedira has an effort at goal from just inside the box that misses to the left of the goal.

• 76:08 Assist by Jerome Rothen.

• 76:08 GOAL - Madjid Bougherra:VfB Stuttgart 1 - 1 Rangers A goal is scored by Madjid Bougherra from the edge of the area to the bottom right corner of the goal. VfB Stuttgart 1-1 Rangers.

• 74:40 Corner taken left-footed by Jerome Rothen, Headed effort from deep inside the area by Steven Whittaker misses to the left of the goal.

• 74:29 Jerome Rothen takes a shot. Roberto Hilbert gets a block in.

• 72:24 Centre by Steven Whittaker, save by Jens Lehmann.

• 70:18 Jens Lehmann restarts play with the free kick.

• 70:18 Booking Sasa Papac receives a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.

• 70:00 Sasa Papac gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Christian Trasch.

• 68:20 Unfair challenge on Steven Whittaker by Arthur Boka results in a free kick. Free kick crossed left-footed by Jerome Rothen from right wing, Mathieu Delpierre gets a block in.

• 66:32 Substitution Timo Gebhart joins the action as a substitute, replacing Alexander Hleb.

• 65:14 The assistant referee signals for offside against Kenny Miller. Free kick taken by Christian Trasch.

• 64:23 Free kick awarded for a foul by Steven Whittaker on Alexander Hleb. Alexander Hleb takes the free kick.

• 63:36 The ball is crossed by Steven Whittaker, Jens Lehmann makes a save.

• 61:17 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Pavel Pogrebniak by Madjid Bougherra. Free kick taken by Thomas Hitzlsperger.

• 58:39 Inswinging corner taken by Thomas Hitzlsperger from the right by-line, Serdar Tasci takes a shot. Clearance made by Madjid Bougherra.

• 58:34 The ball is delivered by Roberto Hilbert, Sasa Papac gets a block in.

• 57:21 The assistant referee signals for offside against Steven Whittaker. Jens Lehmann takes the free kick.

• 56:24 Effort on goal by Jeronimo Baretto Cacau from just outside the area goes harmlessly over the target.

• 55:29 Unfair challenge on Steven Naismith by Serdar Tasci results in a free kick. Pedro Mendes restarts play with the free kick.

• 54:53 Roberto Hilbert has an effort at goal from deep inside the area missing to the right of the goal.

• 52:14 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Pedro Mendes by Sami Khedira. Jerome Rothen takes the direct free kick.

• 51:09 Steven Whittaker delivers the ball, save by Jens Lehmann.

• 46:40 Headed effort on goal by Sasa Papac from inside the penalty box misses to the right of the target.

• 45:40 The assistant referee signals for offside against Kenny Miller. Jens Lehmann takes the free kick.

• 45:01 The referee gets the second half started.

• Half Time

• 45:00+0:08 The half-time whistle blows.

• 44:19 Pavel Pogrebniak is ruled offside. Allan McGregor restarts play with the free kick.

• 43:23 The referee blows for offside. Jens Lehmann takes the free kick.

• 42:01 Corner taken right-footed by Alexander Hleb from the left by-line, clearance made by Sasa Papac.

• 41:17 Free kick awarded for a foul by Madjid Bougherra on Pavel Pogrebniak. Serdar Tasci takes the direct free kick.

• 40:07 Unfair challenge on Kevin Thomson by Arthur Boka results in a free kick. The free kick is swung in left-footed by Jerome Rothen.

• 38:34 Corner from the left by-line taken by Kevin Thomson, free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Sami Khedira by Steven Whittaker. Jens Lehmann takes the free kick.

• 37:25 Jeronimo Baretto Cacau produces a right-footed shot from deep inside the penalty box which goes wide of the right-hand upright.

• 35:08 Jerome Rothen sends in a cross, Serdar Tasci manages to make a clearance.

• 33:10 A cross is delivered by Roberto Hilbert, Sasa Papac gets a block in.

• 30:09 Free kick awarded for a foul by Pavel Pogrebniak on Jerome Rothen. Direct free kick taken by Steven Whittaker.

• 26:41 Steven Whittaker is ruled offside. Indirect free kick taken by Jens Lehmann.

• 24:01 Kenny Miller is caught offside. Jens Lehmann restarts play with the free kick.

• 23:25 Jeronimo Baretto Cacau takes a shot. Pavel Pogrebniak gets a block in.

• 20:36 Corner taken by Kevin Thomson, Jens Lehmann makes a save.

• 17:05 Assist by Jeronimo Baretto Cacau.

• 17:05 GOAL - Pavel Pogrebniak:VfB Stuttgart 1 - 0 Rangers Pavel Pogrebniak gets on the score sheet with a goal from inside the penalty area to the bottom right corner of the goal. VfB Stuttgart 1-0 Rangers.

• 16:13 Inswinging corner taken from the left by-line by Alexander Hleb, Headed effort on goal by Christian Trasch from inside the penalty box misses to the right of the goal.

• 15:33 Corner from the right by-line taken by Thomas Hitzlsperger, Jeronimo Baretto Cacau takes a shot. Allan McGregor gets a block in.

• 15:21 Roberto Hilbert takes a shot. Blocked by Lee McCulloch.

• 12:06 Shot from outside the penalty box by Thomas Hitzlsperger goes wide right of the goal.

• 9:03 Shot on goal by Jeronimo Baretto Cacau from just inside the area clears the crossbar.

• 7:53 The referee blows for offside against Pavel Pogrebniak. Free kick taken by Allan McGregor.

• 7:12 The offside flag is raised against Kenny Miller. Serdar Tasci restarts play with the free kick.

• 5:16 Corner taken right-footed by Alexander Hleb to the near post, clearance by Lee McCulloch.

• 5:06 Alexander Hleb takes a shot. Save by Steven Whittaker.

• 2:46 Arthur Boka challenges Steven Davis unfairly and gives away a free kick. Free kick taken by Lee McCulloch.

• 1:45 Pedro Mendes takes a shot. Jens Lehmann makes a save.

• 0:57 Shot from deep inside the area by Thomas Hitzlsperger goes over the bar.

• 0:33 Jeronimo Baretto Cacau takes a shot. Allan McGregor makes a save.

• 0:00 The game gets underway.

Live text and data provided by The Press Association.

Champions League results

16 Sep 2009 23:59 UK

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