BARCELONA: Barcelona were held to a goalless draw by Galatasaray in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie.

Frenkie de Jong went closest for the La Liga side when he struck the post in the second half from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s overhead kick.

Former Swansea striker Bafetimbi Gomis thought he had earned the visitors an unlikely late win but his sublime finish was ruled out for offside.

Memphis Depay twice went close to giving Xavi’s side a first-half lead.

The Dutchman’s curling free-kick was saved by Galatasaray goalkeeper Inaki Pena, before Depay was denied again by the Barcelona loanee with a low drive that was heading for the far corner.

Jordi Alba also sent a first-time effort inches wide of the far post as Galatasaray held on to keep the tie level ahead of next week’s second leg in Turkey.

Rangers took a significant step towards the Europa League quarter-finals with a pulsating statement win over Red Star Belgrade at Ibrox.

James Tavernier’s penalty and Alfredo Morelos’ strike in the first 15 minutes sparked the game into life, before Aleksandar Katai – who had already had two efforts ruled offside – had a spot kick saved superbly by Allan McGregor.

That was all in a frantic opening 24 minutes and, although the tempo slowed, Leon Balogun’s towering header gave Rangers a commanding lead to protect.

Inconsistent league form has caused the reigning Scottish champions to slip three points adrift in the Premiership, but they seem to find something within them for European nights, having done for Borussia Dortmund in a famous victory in the previous round.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men rose to the occasion again against the Serbian title holders, giving themselves a golden chance to finish the job next Thursday and reach the last eight of the competition for the first time since 2008.

West Ham’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals of the Europa League hang in the balance after they fell to a narrow defeat at Sevilla in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

Munir El Haddadi scored the game’s only goal for the six-time winners, sweeping in superbly from Marcos Acuna’s free-kick on the hour mark.

Until that point David Moyes’ West Ham side had more than held their own in their first knockout tie in a major European competition since 1981.

Nikola Vlasic headed an early opportunity straight at Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, Michail Antonio then missing his kick with the follow up from close range.

Croatian forward Vlasic also saw Bounou tip a low driven effort around the post with Tomas Soucek also testing the home goalkeeper and Manuel Lanzini seeing his close-range effort blocked as the Hammers tried to breach the meanest defence in La Liga.

An end-to-end affair also saw the hosts create several openings of note with Munir heading wide from Jesus Corona’s cross, Youssef En-Nesyri going close and Lucas Ocampos flashing an effort across the face of the West Ham goal.

With Julen Lopetegui’s side occupying second spot in La Liga, the difficulty of the Hammers’ assignment was evident and the task was further highlighted by Sevilla’s outstanding record at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium, where they have not lost a domestic game all season.

However, Moyes will be more than satisfied by the efficient manner in which his side went about their work.

Marc Albrighton’s superb goal set Leicester on their way to victory over Rennes in the first leg of their last-16 Europa Conference League tie.

The 32-year-old winger powered an effort into the top right corner after some excellent work by Harvey Barnes.

Until then, the hosts had struggled to contain a lively Rennes side that sit fourth in Ligue 1.

The Foxes’ night got even better when Kelechi Iheanacho curled in a late second against the run of play.

The celebrations around the King Power suggested many felt Nigerian forward Iheanacho’s late contribution may prove pivotal to the outcome of the tie, which resumes when the Foxes travel to France for the return leg on March 17.

Manager Brendan Rodgers will be delighted to have a two-goal cushion against fluent opponents who will feel aggrieved to have left the East Midlands empty-handed.

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