Wales kept their Euro 2024 qualification hopes alive with a 2-0 win in Latvia as Aaron Ramsey’s 100th career goal and a David Brooks clincher lifted the pressure on under-fire manager Rob Page.

Ramsey stroked home a 29th-minute penalty – his 21st goal for Wales – before Brooks, on as a substitute for the injured captain, settled matters in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

The victory was Wales’ second in 14 attempts and gives them renewed hope that they can claim a top-two place in Group D.

On a night when Wales simply had to win or be left with a play-off route to Germany next summer, there was further good news before kick-off as group leaders Croatia did them a favour by winning 1-0 in Armenia.

Croatia are Wales’ next Euro opponents in Cardiff next month, and Page can now look forward to that game after heading to Riga with huge question marks over his future.

The 49-year-old was feted as a national hero after leading Wales to their first World Cup for 64 years, but poor performances at that tournament and in this campaign had prompted large parts of the fan base to call for managerial change.

Page had drawn encouragement from Thursday’s friendly with South Korea – and he named 10 of the side who started that goalless draw in Cardiff.

Captain Ramsey returned in place of Nathan Broadhead as Burnley’s Connor Roberts won his 50th cap.

Jordan James made his first competitive start and the 19-year-old suggested he may be a mainstay of the Wales midfield for some time to come.

Latvia had drawn a complete blank in Euro 2024 qualifying, losing all four games, with three of them – including a 1-0 away defeat to Wales in March – by a single goal margin.

The tiny three-sided Skonto Stadium, with cars parked behind one goal, seemed at odds with what was such an important night in Welsh football. But over 1,000 Wales fans were in a crowd of 6,464.

There had been a mood of sporting celebration in Riga throughout the day as Latvians turned out to honour their basketball players, who had recorded a best finish of fifth at the sport’s World Cup, in the city.

Wales should have had the perfect start inside 75 seconds when Ethan Ampadu released Brennan Johnson but Tottenham’s new striker skied over on his unfavoured left side.

Ampadu was off-target from a Harry Wilson corner but Wales were threatening at set-pieces.

Chris Mepham met another Wilson corner at the far post and Ben Davies reached the deflected ball first to force Roberts Ozols into a flying save in the Latvian goal.

Chances continued to come and go for Wales with Johnson wayward again and Ozols producing stops to deny Wilson and Roberts.

There was a danger that frustration would creep in, but Latvia provided a helping hand when Kaspars Dubra bundled over Wilson after 28 minutes.

The incident survived a VAR check for a potential offside in the build-up and Ramsey coolly converted for his landmark goal.

Wales should have been out of sight in the next 10 minutes as Neco Williams and Johnson fired wide when well-placed and Ozols denied Wilson again.

Latvia had shown nothing as an attacking force for 41 minutes before suddenly bursting into life.

Ward shovelled out a Janis Ikaunieks header that Roberts had to clear as the Latvian striker prepared to pounce for the rebound, while Raimonds Krollis almost profited twice after being left unguarded.

Wales suffered a blow four minutes into the second half when Ramsey signalled to the bench to come off, with David Brooks taking his place.

The worry was that Wales would miss Ramsey’s stabilising influence and Krollis went close after Johnson had driven wide.

Latvia might have been reduced to 10 men when Ikaunieks aimed a wild kick at James.

Slovakian referee Michal Ocenas brandished a yellow card before being asked to review the decision at the VAR monitor. After a two-minute check Ocenas stuck with his original decision and Ikaunieks escaped further sanction.

The final quarter became very fragmented with a series of niggly fouls.

Ikaunieks’ 20-yard shot flew into the side netting and, while that would have represented the cruellest punishment for Wales, Brooks ended matters by racing on to Wilson’s pass and scoring with the most delicious of chips.

Cardiff boss Erol Bulut was relieved to get his first league win in a last-gasp 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday and believes it has been coming.

Wales skipper Aaron Ramsey had a hand in the opening goal of the game two minutes after half time as Ike Ugbo hammered in his third goal in four games since joining from French Ligue 1 side Troyes in the summer.

Barry Bannan’s screamer looked set to earn a point for Wednesday but Will Vaulks was adjudged to have handled the ball in the seventh minute of added time.

That gave Ryan Wintle the chance to step up and hammer home the winner from the penalty spot to give new Cardiff boss Bulut his first league win.

“I didn’t expect it [first win] to be so difficult. After three games, what we played, we were unlucky at Leicester and Leeds, conceding last-minute goals, so confidence was not like before,” said Bulut.

“That is why this game was really important for us. We could have been 2-0 up if (Callum) O’Dowda or (Yakou) Meite could have taken their chances.

“I think we deserved the win. Everybody fought and we really wanted these three points.

“Sometimes it’s not enough to play well. At Leeds, we played well for 45 minutes, 45 minutes at Leicester. We could have more points by now but 45 minutes is not enough.

“Today, for 90 minutes we were really fighting and we had our moments to make it easier for ourselves but I’m really happy we got three points for the morale of the team. It’s really important.”

Wednesday are still pointless after four games since coming up from League One.

“I think it was our best performance of the season today and we need to continue like this. After we drew level we began to control the game and tried to go on to win it,” said Wednesday boss Xisco Munoz.

“We need to improve on our clean sheets because at the moment we need to score at least two goals to win any game. We lost today because of some of our mistakes, it wasn’t so much a case of Cardiff winning it.

“I am very, very sad for my players because I know how hard they are working every day. We have lost the game because of some silly mistakes.”

Bulut confirmed after the game that goalkeeper Ryan Allsop has been given the go ahead to leave the club. He has been linked with a move to Hull.

“We got a message from his management. If somebody wants to leave, we don’t keep anybody here,” explained Bulut.

“For that shirt, you have to fight. He did it in years before but his management said they wanted to make their move, so we made our move also.

“We took Alex Runarsson on loan so we let him go.”

QPR spoiled Aaron Ramsey’s Cardiff homecoming with a 2-1 success in the Sky Bet Championship.

Sinclair Armstrong – with his first QPR goal – and Kenneth Paal were on target to puncture Cardiff’s early-season optimism generated by the return of Wales captain Ramsey.

Ike Ugbo gave Cardiff hope 12 minutes from time with his second goal in as many league games, but the Bluebirds were left to rue efforts from Ramsey and Mark McGuinness coming back off the crossbar.

Ramsey’s last appearance on this ground in Cardiff colours came in February 2011, when on loan from Arsenal as he recovered from serious injury.

There was huge excitement as Ramsey led out a Cardiff side managed at home in the league for the first time by Erol Bulut, the former Fenerbahce head coach.

But the day belonged to Armstrong, a 20-year-old Irish striker who not only opened his QPR account in the first half but unselfishly set up Paal after 65 minutes.

QPR slumped to a 4-0 defeat at Watford on the opening weekend and boss Gareth Ainsworth had acted quickly to bolster his defence.

Steve Cook arrived from Nottingham Forest on Wednesday and the veteran centre-half went straight into the middle of a three-man defence.

QPR started brightly but Cardiff carried a goal threat when getting into forward positions.

Cardiff’s best chance of the first period came after 19 minutes when McGuinness headed goalwards for the swivelling Ugbo to send his shot wide.

QPR were playing the more cohesive football and Cook met Paal’s free-kick at the far post to force a smart save from Jak Alnwick.

Ilias Chair was wayward before Paul Smyth picked Callum O’Dowda’s pocket and found the sliding Armstrong, who made no mistake from a few yards.

Cardiff went close to an equaliser in first-half stoppage-time but Asmir Begovic got down well to turn Ryan Wintle’s 20-yard effort around a post.

There was more purpose about Cardiff straight after the restart as Ramsey played in O’Dowda and Morgan Fox made a fine stretching clearance.

Callum Robinson replaced the injured Ebou Adams but Cardiff struggled to make headway against resolute opponents.

QPR were lucky to survive when Ramsey found space on the edge of the penalty area and his effort clattered against the crossbar.

Cardiff kept the move alive and Begovic was quick off his line to smother Karlan Grant’s attempt.

QPR made the most of their good fortune within moments after Ramsey gave away possession and Armstrong, having evaded Dimitrios Goutas, raced down the right.

Armstrong did not panic as he scanned for support and his inviting ball was dispatched by Paal.

Cardiff set up a grandstand finish as Ramsey delivered a delightful pass to O’Dowda at the far post.

O’Dowda did superbly to keep the ball in play and lift it over Begovic and Ugbo tapped home.

Cardiff struck the crossbar again through McGuinness but 10 minutes of stoppage time eventually ran out on the Bluebirds.

Wales captain Aaron Ramsey has completed a return to his boyhood club Cardiff on a two-year contract.

Ramsey made 22 appearances for the Bluebirds as a teenager and six more on loan from Arsenal in 2011 and remains their youngest ever player.

Having played for them in the 2008 FA Cup final, he went on to win the competition three times with the Gunners and added a Serie A title and a Coppa Italia with Juventus and a Scottish Cup on loan at Rangers before joining Nice.

He has played in Europa League finals with Arsenal, for whom he made over 350 appearances, and Rangers and for Wales at two European Championships and a World Cup.

Ramsey told Cardiff’s website: “It feels unbelievable to finally be back here. I always thought one day I’d come back, and now it’s the perfect time to do that.

“To be back with my family and around familiar faces is just brilliant, so I’m delighted to be back here now. I’ve missed that a lot in the last year or so, so it was important for me to be back around them.

“Obviously I’m a Cardiff City fan and watching them over the years since I’ve been away, we’ve had some low points but some big highs as well, being in the Premier League and representing Cardiff on the big stage. That’s a target of mine – to try and help my team-mates and this club to get back to the top.

“I owe so much to Cardiff, to the fans, to everybody who has been at the club when I was here as a young boy coming through. For me now to come full circle, to be part of this team now, and hopefully achieve the goals we want, there’s no better feeling than that.”

Ramsey’s seven-year-old son Sonny has also joined Cardiff’s academy, signing his contract alongside his father.

Aaron Ramsey has been appointed Wales captain after Gareth Bale announced his retirement from football in the aftermath of last year's World Cup campaign.

Former Real Madrid forward Bale retired from professional football at the age of 33 in January, having led Wales into their first World Cup campaign since 1958 in Qatar last year.

Having won a record-breaking 111 caps for his country, Bale will be succeeded by the man joint-seventh in their all-time appearance list – former Arsenal and Juventus midfielder Ramsey.

Ramsey moved to France in search of regular minutes following a frustrating loan spell at Rangers last term, and has made 21 league appearances since joining Nice on a free transfer last August.

The 32-year-old already has experience of captaining Wales after being named skipper by Gary Speed in 2011, though Chris Coleman opted to hand the armband to Ashley Williams one year later.

The announcement came as boss Rob Page named a 24-man squad for Wales' opening Euro 2024 qualifiers against Croatia and Latvia later this month, with the team looking to qualify for a third-consecutive edition of the tournament.

Page named four uncapped players in his squad for those fixtures, namely midfielders Jordan James and Ollie Cooper, Fulham youngster Luke Harris and striker Nathan Broadhead.

Ben Davies believes England would be weaker without Harry Kane ahead of Wales' crunch match with the Three Lions, while Joe Allen defended the performances of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey.

The Golden Boot winner in Russia four years ago, Kane is yet to register a shot on target across England's 6-2 win over Iran and goalless draw with the United States.

With the Three Lions all but assured of a place in the knockout stage, Gareth Southgate may rest his captain for their final Group B match.

Davies saluted his Tottenham team-mate but even with his potential absence, the defender is well aware of the Dragons' task.

"Harry's a world-class player and one of the best in the world, so he's going to make any team better with him in there," he said.

"That doesn't mean that England don't have very capable replacements to come in. Whoever we're up against, we're facing a team of world-class players.

"They're a world-class side. It's going to be a very tough game, but we have to prep as well as we can, look for areas of weakness they have and try and capitalise on that.

"We're under no illusions it's not going to be anything other than very difficult."

Having collected a single point from their first two games, Rob Page's side must beat their rivals - while hoping Iran fail to beat USA - to stand any chance of extending their first finals appearance in 64 years.

Davies has urged his team-mates to respond to their surprise 2-0 defeat by Iran last time out with 100 per cent effort at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium.

"We've had that disappointment, and we've got no choice but to move on and give everything we can," the Tottenham defender added.

"We're a team that's set high standards for ourselves and that's the reason why we've got to where we are now.

"That's the reason why we've been critical of our last few results – it's only because of the bar we've set ourselves. We know we can play a lot better, and we hope to do that in the next game."

Meanwhile, Joe Allen leapt to the defence of Bale and Ramsey. Between them, the pair have scored 61 goals for Wales, and were expected to play a key role in Qatar.

But both came under scrutiny following a pair of below-par displays against the USA and Iran, with four-time Champions League winner Bale registering just one shot on goal against the latter. 

"They're two incredible players, and they have been for our country," Allen said. "I don't think there's anyone else in the squad who's reached the heights they're capable of.

"It's a huge game coming up, they're big-game players and always have been. Hopefully, if any criticism has come their way, then they'll be able to answer a few of those critics with a top performance."

Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey has signed for Ligue 1 side Nice after being released by Juventus.

The 31-year-old joins as a free agent less than a week after agreeing to terminate his contract with the Bianconeri, with Nice yet to disclose the length of his deal.

Ramsey spent three years with Juventus, joining in 2019 after his contract at Arsenal expired, but he struggled to establish himself in Italy and made just three Serie A appearances last season before joining Rangers on loan.

He featured seven times for Rangers in the Scottish Premiership, but his time in Glasgow will mostly be remembered for his crucial penalty shoot-out miss in the Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville, which Rangers went on to lose.

Ramsey will be keen to get some minutes under his belt to prepare for the World Cup in Qatar in November.

He becomes the second Wales international in quick succession to move to France's top tier, with centre-back Joe Rodon joining Rennes on loan from Tottenham on Monday.

Nice finished fifth in Ligue 1 last season and have already added Alexis Beka Beka, Rares Ilie and Badredine Bouanani in recent weeks.

The club have also been linked with moves for Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and Empoli centre-back Mattia Viti.

Aaron Ramsey will become a free agent after Juventus announced his contract with the Italian club had been mutually terminated.

The Wales international joined the Bianconeri in 2019 after his Arsenal contract expired, but he fell out of favour last season and made just three Serie A appearances before joining Scottish side Rangers on loan.

He featured seven times for the Gers in the Scottish Premiership, but his time in Glasgow will be remembered for his crucial penalty shoot-out miss in the Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville, which Rangers ultimately went on to lose.

The 31-year-old returned to Turin after the loan spell with one year left on his contract, but it has been agreed between the two parties that they will part ways.

The midfielder has been strongly linked with a move to a couple of former clubs, with boyhood club Cardiff City reportedly interested as well as Premier League new boys Nottingham Forest, where he spent a short spell on loan in the 2010-11 season.

Ramsey will be keen to get some minutes under his belt to prepare for the World Cup with Wales in Qatar in November. 

Juventus meanwhile are reportedly interested in Paris Saint-Germain's Leandro Paredes, who spent last season on loan with Sporting Lisbon and could be a player that PSG would be happy to sell.

Despite winning LaLiga and the Champions League last season, Real Madrid want to secure a bright future to follow their trophy-laden present.

Having confirmed the signings of Aurelien Tchouameni and Antonio Rudiger this off-season, Madrid managed to bolster their squad in two areas of the pitch.

Meanwhile, they are on the verge of securing the long-term futures of three foundational pieces in those successes last term.

TOP STORY – REAL MADRID TO SECURE BRAZILIAN TRIO

Real Madrid are all but set to confirm renewed contracts for their Brazilian trio of Eder Militao, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Despite tricky initiations for each, all three have now established themselves as vital players under Carlo Ancelotti, as evidenced by their new release clauses.

Militao and Rodrygo have reportedly extended to June 2028, with respective €500million and €1billion release clauses.

After a breakout season, culminating with his goal in May's Champions League final, Vinicius will reportedly extend to June 2027, along with a €1bn release clause.

ROUND-UP

– Manchester United are now considering a move for Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic as an alternative to Frenkie de Jong, Calciomercato is reporting.

– Juventus have made a €23m (£19.5m) move for Liverpool's Roberto Firmino as they finalise the termination of Aaron Ramsey's contract, according to Tuttomercatoweb.

– Jules Kounde's departure from Sevilla appears likelier with the defender close to agreeing personal terms with Barcelona, per Fabrizio Romano.

– Arsenal have confirmed their interest in Lucas Paqueta but are yet to make Lyon an offer, The Times has reported.

The revolving door at Stamford Bridge could face a potential slow down with the growing wage disparity between the Premier League and the rest of Europe's top five leagues.

Premier League clubs dominate lists of the highest wage spenders in European football and since Roman Abramovich's takeover, Chelsea have long been a prominent figure in that regard.

In a changing marketplace, however, moving players this season has become a trickier task.

TOP STORY – WERNER, KEPA STAYING PUT AT CHELSEA

Chelsea are struggling to move Timo Werner and Kepa Arrizabalaga among other players due to wage demands, according to The Telegraph.

The Blues are also finding it tricky to move Michy Batshuayi and Ross Barkley, despite the club's desire to accommodate potential signings.

Werner has seen the Blues search for attackers this off-season and could potentially be joining Romelu Lukaku out the door, while Kepa has notably been Edouard Mendy's understudy.

Finding a suitable club for the two has the potential to be difficult, however, with both being brought in on lucrative wages.

ROUND-UP

– Barcelona will make a final attempt to sign Sevilla's Jules Kounde amid likelier interest from Chelsea, Sport is reporting.

– Manchester City have had a £30million bid for Marc Cucurella rejected by Brighton and Hove Albion, who value him around £50m, according to The Athletic.

– Paris Saint-Germain are looking to offload Georginio Wijnaldum and Roma have emerged as a potential destination for the Netherlands midfielder, Corriere dello Sport reports.

– Juventus are considering the termination of Aaron Ramsey's contract in an attempt to cut heavy wage spending, per Fabrizio Romano.

Aaron Ramsey has been left out of Juventus' squad for their pre-season tour of the United States amid reports the midfielder wants his contract terminated in Turin.

The Wales international struggled for appearances last season before he was considered surplus to requirements as Massimiliano Allegri sent him on loan to Rangers.

Ramsey helped the Scottish Premiership side to the Europa League final but missed a penalty in the shoot-out as Eintracht Frankfurt lifted the trophy in Seville.

The 31-year-old is entering the final 12 months of his contract with Juve, but reports suggest he wants to cut short his deal to end a frustrating and injury-marred spell with the Serie A side.

Cardiff City are said to be among front-runners to sign Ramsey – who played just 97 Serie A minutes last season – with Burnley, Rangers and a host of MLS sides also linked to the midfielder.

Ramsey will want to be playing regular first-team club football ahead of going to the World Cup with Wales in November.

As Juventus head off the US, where they face C.D. Guadalajara, Barcelona and Real Madrid, Federico Chiesa is another to have been left out of the 27-man squad as he continues his recovery from an ACL injury.

There are also injury concerns Mattia De Sciglio, Kaio Jorge and Arthur, who is reportedly a target for Arsenal should Mikel Arteta not be able to sign Leicester City star Youri Tielemans.

Meanwhile, Adrien Rabiot had already confirmed on Wednesday that he would miss the tour due to "personal reasons" and was subsequently left out of Allegri's squad that was announced the following day.

Gleison Bremer, Paul Pogba and Angel Di Maria have all been included as Juventus prepare to see their new arrivals in action.

Aaron Ramsey has the character to put his penalty miss in Rangers' Europa League final shoot-out defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt behind him, according to Wales boss Rob Page.

The on-loan Juventus midfielder, brought on in the second half of extra time, missed the only spot-kick as Frankfurt prevailed 5-4 in a game that finished level at 1-1 in Seville on Wednesday.

It marked the first time Rangers had tasted defeat on penalties in European competition since the 1999-2000 UEFA Cup when losing to Borussia Dortmund in the last 32.

Ramsey was visibly upset after Rafael Borre converted the decisive penalty for Frankfurt, who are the first German team to win the UEFA Cup or Europa League since Schalke in 1996-97.

But Page insists he has no worries about selecting the 31-year-old to take a penalty should Wales' upcoming World Cup qualifying play-off against either Scotland or Ukraine go the distance.

"I have no doubt whatsoever that if it comes to penalties that he will take one," Page said at a news conference on Thursday after naming his 27-man squad for that June 5 showdown in Cardiff.

Asked if he still has faith in Ramsey, Page said: "Absolutely, 100 per cent. It happens to the best in the world. Top players, they put themselves up.

"I am so proud of him for putting himself up [to take a penalty]. He is a world-class footballer. He had the courage and conviction to take a penalty. Top players recover from that, no problem."

Ramsey is part of Wales' latest squad, as is Gareth Bale, who will become a free agent when his Real Madrid contract expires in the coming weeks.

Bale's agent this week suggested a return to English football is the most likely option, with the forward aiming to keep fit ahead of November's World Cup should Wales qualify for the tournament for the first time in 64 years.

"I think everybody is probably thinking the same thing about his future," Page said. "It will depend on how results go with regards to what he does next season with a club.

"The only person who can answer that is Gareth. All I know is whenever he turns up for us he is first class. The full focus on himself is winning this game against Ukraine or Scotland, so he can worry about that after."

Bale has started just four games for Madrid in all competitions this season and has not been part of their matchday squad for any of their past five games because of a back problem.

The Wales skipper is back in training, however, and Page expects him to be part of Los Blancos' squad for next week's Champions League final against Liverpool in Paris.

"I think Gareth puts himself when he is fit to be available for Real Madrid like he does with us," Page said. "It is down to the manager then whether he wants to select him or not in the squad. 

"I think he is confident he will be involved and we will wait and see whether he is involved. We will then get him in camp as soon as we can."

Eintracht Frankfurt boss Oliver Glasner believes his side cannot reach a higher level, despite their Europa League final win over Rangers on Wednesday ensuring Champions League football next season.

Glasner was full of praise for his side, who battled from a goal down following Joe Aribo's 57th minute opener for Rangers to equalise via Rafael Borre and force extra-time at 1-1, before claiming a 5-4 penalty shootout win.

With the Europa League triumph, Eintracht will play in Europe's premier cup competition for the first time since 1960 - where they eventually lost 7-3 in the final to Real Madrid – despite finishing 11th in the Bundesliga this season.

According to Glasner however, his side's mentality is already that of a top team and as a result, he did not have to provide much instruction during intervals as the match progressed.

"No, there is next level, it's impossible," Glasner said post-match. "I have to say a bit more about that. This year started difficult, but the players kept believing in themselves, what we told them, what we trained.

"That shows the character, mentality they have. The spirit developed, today we had players who weren’t eligible for Europe but they were never negative, they were not selfish, they did everything for success. That's why I wasn’t surprised that even when it was difficult, our fans were louder than Rangers' and they pushed us forward."

"I told the players the most important thing is that the referee doesn’t stress us, we have to control rhythm and I said just go do your thing like we've done so far, and that's it."

After an intense first half, Eintracht started to see more of the ball as the game slowed down but it did not translate into substantial opportunities and Aribo's opener could have further deflated their play.

The Eagles maintained in approach and eventually restored parity through Borre, beating Calvin Bassey to the ball and direct Filip Kostic's cross home in the 69th minute.

Glasner also singled out the 26-year-old Colombian, who scored the equaliser and winning penalty after Aaron Ramsey's attempt in the shootout was saved by Kevin Trapp, claiming the performance and outcome is reflective of the work he puts in.

"Rafa is incredibly important, not only the goals but he works hard even defensively and at half-time we showed the players some situations from the first half," Glasner said. "We didn’t have the intensity in attack and Rangers defended that well.

"We had to invest everything, attack the front post and he did that very well. He ran and then had a really good chance. He fought really hard – he deserved it. He was great. He really helps us and is also a leader."

Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst stood by his decision to bring Kemar Roofe and Aaron Ramsey on as late substitutes following their penalties loss to Eintracht Frankfurt in Wednesday's Europa League final.

With scores locked at 1-1 after 90 minutes, Van Bronckhorst brought the two on in the 117th minute with penalties in mind. Ramsey was the only player to not convert his penalty, Kevin Trapp saving with his feet at 3-3, before Rafael Borre followed Roofe's spot-kick to secure a 5-4 shootout win for Eintracht.

It was the Gers' second Europa League final loss in as many appearances, following 2008's 2-0 loss to Zenit in Manchester.

According to Van Bronckhorst, despite evident disappointment in the changing rooms afterwards, his final list of penalty takers was impacted by a combination of factors including Borna Barisic's inability to take one of the penalties, and pre-match preparation.

"It was tough, physically, but the players gave everything and gave all their effort on the pitch," Van Bronckhorst said post-match. "I subbed some players because they were struggling physically, but I cannot complain. They gave everything and that's all you can ask as a coach.

"Borna had to go out and he's one of the first penalty kickers in the game. We trained in penalty kicks, because some players are comfortable taking them. We had a good feel of players who wanted to take a penalty and players who didn't. In the end we had our list and we had to adjust it because of the subs.

"You could see it after the game straight away, it's never a nice feeling. Everyone is very disappointed and you can sense that in the locker room. I think it's normal, so soon after the game, but Aaron took responsibility to take the penalty. Unfortunately he didn't make it, but you want players who are comfortable and who are ready to take them."

Rangers created sporadic opportunities, with Joe Aribo's 57th minute opener at the top of the penalty area one of their only four shots in the box.

The game petered after Borre's equaliser in the 69th, but Ryan Kent had the best chance to win the match in extra-time, only to be denied by Trapp from close range under pressure from Kristijan Jakic.

Ultimately, Van Bronckhorst asserted he could not fault the effort of his players, and understands their post-match predicament more than most.

"Especially in those minutes near the end of the game, it's decisive," he said. "It's a big chance for us, but Ryan did everything he can to score the goal. In the end, you know when you have chances you have to take them."

"If you play a final in Europe and you lose, it's going to hurt, because if you play a final you will do everything you can to win it. In the end, with penalties, it's a lottery and tonight we weren't on the good side.

"But I can't complain with everything my players gave and in the games before tonight. In the end, I think it was a really tight game. Went all the way to penalties and, you know, we lost. A big disappointment because we were so close to winning a trophy. I lost a World Cup final, the biggest game there is, also a huge disappointment but you have to move on."

Celtic took a big stride towards regaining the Scottish Premiership title as Cameron Carter-Vickers' strike secured a 2-1 Old Firm derby win over Rangers at Ibrox.

Aaron Ramsey gave the Gers a dream start by opening the scoring just three minutes in, but Tomas Rogic equalised only four minutes later to silence the vast majority of a raucous capacity crowd on Sunday.

After weathering an early storm, Celtic were the better side and Carter-Vickers put them in front late in the first half.

Rangers were unable to respond in a second half that was delayed due to broken glass being thrown onto the pitch as Celtic moved six points clear of their fierce Glasgow rivals, with Ange Postecoglou's side also having a superior goal difference with six games to play.

Defending champions Rangers were rewarded for making a blistering start when Calvin Bassey sent Ryan Kent racing clear down the left and the winger's cross was swept in by the onrushing Ramsey.

Celtic briefly looked like they did not know what had hit them, but they were quickly level, Rogic turning in from close range after Allan McGregor palmed Reo Hatate's shot into his path following a brilliant run from Callum McGregor.

The Hoops thought Daizen Maeda had been upended by McGregor in the box late in the first half, but Carter-Vickers deservedly drilled them into the lead with his left foot as the Gers failed to deal with a free-kick from the left.

Joe Hart returned after the break to discover broken bottles in his penalty area, but Celtic looked untroubled once the game restarted after a delay of only a few minutes for a clean-up operation.

Hart did produce a fine save from Fashion Sakala and a superb reflex stop from McGregor prevented Liel Abada from extending Celtic's lead, but goals from Rogic and Carter-Vickers were enough to secure three precious points for the visitors.