Malta international midfielder Teddy Teuma enjoyed a fairytale debut in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers when he netted the opener as Union St Gilloise beat Scottish giants Rangers 2-0 in their third qualifying round first leg tie.
The clock marked 27 minutes when Teuma was set up by Lazare Amani inside the area and hit a rasping drive that gave no chance to Rangers goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin.
It was a crucial goal for the Belgian side, who are making their first ever appearance in the elite UEFA club competition, as they headed into the half-time interval with a one-goal lead.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Gers looked out-of-sorts with their quest to qualify for the group stage becoming even tougher when Dante Vanzeir converted a second-half penalty after Connor Goldson was adjudged by VAR to have handled the ball in the area.
Union St Gilloise are bidding to build on what was a fairytale 2021-22 season which have seen the newly-promoted club surprisingly mount a strong league challenge only to be pipped to the title in the final part of the season by Club Bruges.
Earlier on Tuesday, Union St Gilloise discovered their potential opponents should they progress to the Play-off Round as they will face the winner of the tie between Monaco and PSV Eindhoven.
