Eintracht Frankfurt fans traveled en masse to Seville for the Europa League final on Wednesday. Their German goalkeeper ensured they’ll be partying deep into the Spanish night. An unbelievable Kevin Trapp save vs Rangers helped Frankfurt claim the Europa League crown, the club’s first European trophy in 42 years.
Frankfurt, winner of the 1980 UEFA Cup, outlasted Rangers 5-4 in a shootout after a 1-1 draw in regulation. Trapp made a point-blank save in the 118th minute then made the only save of the shootout to send more than 50,000 traveling fans into raptures.
Kevin Trapp Save vs Rangers
The moment of the match came just before the shootout. In the dying moments, Ryan Kent slid into a cross to shoot from the edge of the six-yard box toward what appeared to be an empty net. Trapp somehow ran across and stuck out a leg to deny the Liverpool youth player and keep Frankfurt alive.
A POINT-BLANK SAVE FROM KEVIN TRAPP. pic.twitter.com/PmUAyircFq
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 18, 2022
Rangers fans were already celebrating when Trapp somehow kept the shot out, and Steven Davis’ follow-up was deflected over the goal (though Rangers did not get a corner kick).
With that, the teams went to a shootout, where the two teams had nine superb penalty kick takers convert nine superb attempts. The lone miss of the shootout came from former Arsenal and Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey, the Welshman’s effort going straight down the middle allowing Trapp to make the save.
Rafael Borré, who scored a worldie in the quarterfinals to knock Barcelona out, converted the final penalty to secure the victory.
The Trapp save allowed Timmy Chandler to pick up a European trophy, the first American to do so since Christian Pulisic won the 2021 Champions league with Chelsea. On the other side of the pitch, American James Sands will have to settle for a runners-up medal. The 21-year-old on loan from NYCFC came on in extra time to bolster the Rangers defense.
The match went to extra time after both teams scored 12 minutes apart in the second half. Joe Aribo capitalized on a slip to put Rangers into the lead before Borré equalized by being first to a cross from the excellent left foot of Filip Kostić.
Next up: the Europa Conference League final between Feyenoord and Roma will be next Wednesday, followed by the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool on Saturday, May 28. I’m not sure either match will feature a better goalkeeping moment than the Kevin Trapp save vs Rangers.
