They arrived to find a scene straight from hell awaiting them at the gates. But inside the Philips Stadion it was heaven on earth as, at long last, Rangers secured their space back among Europe’s elite.
It has been said more than once their battle back from the bottom would only truly be complete once they fought their way back to the Champions League top table. Well, after 12 long years in the group-stage wilderness, consider it journey complete. Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team served up their latest astonishing act of heroic brilliance on foreign soil to seal a £30million payday.
Madness reigned outside but inside it was Rangers who were calm and measured, soaking up everything PSV had to offer before taking their chance when it finally came on the hour. Pressure was on van Bronckhorst and Antonio Colak to deliver against the Dutch after the boss took the remarkable step of bombing Alfredo Morelos out of his squad.
Well, fair play to the Croatia international. He worked his backside off for the cause and got his reward as Malik Tillman’s foraging presented him with the easiest of tap-ins, which will see Rangers now take their place in pot four in today’s draw.
PSV, owned and set up by electronics giants Philips, aren’t too bad for a work’s team. And their fans certainly know how to spark an atmosphere. The locals began gathering three hours before kick-off and were at fever pitch by the time the teams arrived. As Rangers’ team bus pulled up to the gates, they were met with a fog of red midst as the PSV pyro party exploded into a scene of ear-splitting noise and colour.
Firecrackers shook the senses, acrid fumes from the flares catching the players’ throats as they were trapped outside the front door for a quarter of an hour. If it was meant to get under their skin, it did the trick as van Bronckhorst dubbed the scenes the worst he’d ever experienced outside a ground.
Rangers’ request for a 20-minute delay was booted out by UEFA but it mattered not. They were ready to go, regardless of the Dutch din outside. And with Morelos on the naughty step, it was a fairly straightforward team selection as Glen Kamara took over from Steven Davis in the only change to last Tuesday’s line-up.
At least Rangers had a fair idea of what they’d be up against, with Ruud van Nistelrooy naming the same XI. The atmosphere was every bit as frenzied inside as it was out.
Van Bronckhorst had spoken on the eve of this second leg of how the Champions League anthem still has the power to stir his soul. It clearly had the same effect on his players as they reacted to the strains inspired by “Zadok the Priest” by bossing the opening half hour.
The spotlight was on Colak to show he could lead the line like Morelos when it mattered. His first attempt saw him fire a simple pass to Tom Lawrence out of the park. Even a half-fit, half-interested Morelos would have completed that one.
Colak wasted another promising moment when James Sands sent him in behind, only for the striker’s final ball to let him down. But his link-up was spot on 26 minutes in as he put Tillman into the box. The Bayern Munich youngster did well to spot John Lundstram lurking 18 yards out but the Scouser’s drive fizzed just wide.
Having looked the more assured side, Rangers allowed some nerves to creep in as they played themselves into trouble more than once. Jordan Teze was a fraction from finding Luuk de Jong with a teasing ball that skidded past their goal.
In the wake of vowing his team would be tighter at set-pieces after conceding twice at Ibrox eight days earlier, van Bronckhorst would have been dismayed to see Ibrahim Sangare get a free header from PSV’s second dead-ball delivery of the night.
Thankfully, the attempt soared over. The Dutch racked up the chances towards the break but with no joy.
Teze delivered again just moments before the whistle blew and this time his ball was inch perfect for de Jong. Jon McLaughlin could barely believe his luck as the 31-year-old’s shot fell plumb into his grasp.
Manchester United target Cody Gakpo then drove inside but could only clip over as blue shirts desperately scrambled in his wake. Someone from the Light Blues squad must have stormed the PA box at the break because as the teams returned, they were greeted by a sudden blast of “Simply the Best”.
That dose of home comforts shook Rangers back from their funk as they shrugged off early PSV pressure. Their goal would have come 10 minutes after the restart had it not been for the woodwork.
Skipping past a couple of tackles on the edge of the box, Lawrence worked the ball back on to his right peg before arcing a shot that shook the underside of the bar and then bounced clear of Walter Benitez’s goal. But van Bronckhorst only had to wait five more minutes to witness the breakthrough as PSV’s careless play gifted Colak the easiest of chances.
Andre Ramalho was daydreaming as he took a short pass from his keeper. By the time he knew Tillman was on him, the American was gone, cutting the ball across for Colak to tap in a fifth goals in six games. Now the only noise was bedlam in the away end.
PSV knew their hopes were slipping away and turned up the heat. Philipp Max fired wide before McLaughlin had to burst from his line to block at Gakpo’s feet.
Rangers suffered late frustration at Easter Road last Saturday but in Europe this side is a different beast as they held firm to claim their place in group stage nirvana.
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