German soccer powerhouse Stuttgart saw an unwilling 1-1 draw with visiting Glasgow Rangers on Wednesday at home in their first match of UEFA Champions League this season.
Stuttgart started immediately with good performance at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, but were unable to exploit their good actions in front of Glasgows goal.
At the 18th minute Stuttgarts striker Cacao initiated a counterattack after a misplaced pass by Rangers defender Sasa Papac. Cacao passed the ball into penalty area to Russia international striker Pavel Pogrebnyak who netted in from 12 meters at the near post. Glasgow Rangers didn't show threatening actions during the rest time of the first half.
After interval Stuttgart went on delivering a good match but failed to double the score, but the balance of luck turned to Glasgow.
Slowly but surely Stuttgart lost their motivation. At the 77th minute, Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra equalized the scoreline by a hammer from 14 meter into near post after one two combination with midfielder Jerome Rothen.
(Xinhua News Agency September 17, 2009)