Dessers earns Champions League away draw for Rangers against Dynamo Kyiv

A last-minute goal from Cyriel Dessers helped Rangers secure a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions League third-round qualifier against Dynamo Kyiv in Poland.

The team from the Scottish Premiership was losing to a goal scored by the Kyiv captain and former West Ham player Andriy Yarmolenko in the 37th minute. However, Dessers managed to score in the last seconds of the four minutes added to the game, converting a cross from substitute Vaclav Cerny with the final shot of the match.

The Rangers will face Kyiv at Hampden Park next week. Scotland's national stadium will be used because of a postponed construction project at one of the Ibrox stands. A win in this match will secure their spot in the playoff round, where they will potentially meet RB Salzburg or Twente.

Rangers coach Philippe Clement shared with BBC Scotland: "We continued to push until the end for the outcome, and I am satisfied with that because we aim to instill a winning mentality in every player at this club: persevere, work hard, never give up, and always believe."

We have added some fresh faces to our team lately, including some young players who have impressed us. Vaclav Cerny made a crucial assist, while Cyriel worked hard to score a goal, taking advantage of the chances he had. The goalkeeper put up a good fight, saving some of Cyriel's shots. Despite facing obstacles, Cyriel never lost hope and it paid off when he finally scored a goal. We are proud of his perseverance and determination.

A video assistant referee who was supposed to work at the Champions League final in 2023 was removed from duty by UEFA just before the game. It has been reported that the VAR official, Bartosz Frankowski, was detained for being intoxicated with his assistant, Tomasz Musial, the night before the match. According to Polish media, the two were stopped by police in Lublin, Poland in the early hours of Tuesday carrying a street sign.

They were scheduled to work at the Dynamo Kyiv-Rangers match. Dynamo is hosting the game in Poland as Ukrainian teams are not allowed to play international games at home. UEFA confirmed that it replaced the two VAR officials, but did not provide specific details. The Polish soccer federation has passed on reports of "inappropriate behavior" to its disciplinary body.

Welsh team The New Saints lost 1-0 to Moldovan team Petrocub in the first match of their Europa League qualification round.

The Saints, who started in the third round after being eliminated from the Champions League by Ferencvaros, found themselves trailing in Chisinau after 20 minutes. A shot by Donalio Douanla deflected off Danny Davies before flying past goalkeeper Connor Roberts. Ben Clark came close to scoring the equalizer with a curling shot that just missed the target.