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Rangers will play at European football’s top table for the first time in more than a decade after stunning PSV Eindhoven to reach the Champions League group stage.
The decisive moment of an absorbing tie finally came on the hour, when Malik Tillman intercepted a PSV pass out from defence and squared for Antonio Colak to find an empty net from six yards.
The Philips Stadion went almost silent and the home side could find no response in the final half hour despite a flurry of chances.
Rangers can now look forward to drawing some of the continent’s biggest names in Thursday’s draw, where they join rivals Celtic as the pair play in the group stage in the same season for the first time since 2008.
Also vital will be the minimum £25m windfall which will now come their way as the Ibrox side complete the turnaround from playing in Scotland’s third division 10 years ago to the Champions League.
The feat was achieved with a huge amount of resilience as PSV threatened throughout, and also amid the controversy surrounding striker Alfredo Morelos, who was left at home due to concerns about his attitude and fitness.
Instead it was the man who has started in his stead all season, Colak, who was in the right place at the crucial moment to score his fifth goal in eight games after brilliant awareness from Tillman to read and shut down goalkeeper Walter Benitez’s pass.
The inevitable response from PSV came as Philip Max shot wide, and goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin denied their star man Cody Gakpo when through on goal, and those were just the opportunities which came after Rangers’ struck.
There were others, including a free header from Ibrahim Sangare and a shot from close-range from Luuk De Jong fired straight at McLaughlin, but ultimately there was no way through.
Rangers showed immense character to hang on and also had their own strong spells, with Tom Lawrence unlucky not to score with a fantastic curling effort which cannoned back off the bar.
But it was their European muscle memory which got Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team over the line, as they again proved a smart, skilful and gutsy team on the big stage, traits which characterised their run to last season’s Europa League final.
Now, the club and its fans can look forward to testing themselves on the biggest stage.
More to follow.
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PSV Eindhoven
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Squad number1Player nameBenítez
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Squad number3Player nameTeze
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Squad number5Player nameAndré Ramalho
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Squad number4Player nameObispo
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Squad number31Player nameMax
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Squad number15Player nameGutiérrez
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Squad number6Player nameSangaré
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Squad number28Player nameSaibari
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Squad number23Player nameVeerman
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Squad number11Player nameGakpo
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Squad number9Player namede Jong
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Squad number7Player nameSimons
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Squad number8Player namevan Ginkel
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Squad number20Player nameTil
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Squad number25Player nameCarlos Vinícius
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Squad number29Player nameMwene
Rangers
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Squad number33Player nameMcLaughlin
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Squad number2Player nameTavernier
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Squad number6Player nameGoldson
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Squad number19Player nameSands
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Squad number31Player nameBarisic
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Squad number4Player nameLundstram
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Squad number18Player nameKamara
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Squad number11Player nameLawrence
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Squad number71Player nameTillman
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Squad number14Player nameKent
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Squad number9Player nameColak
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Squad number23Player nameWright
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Squad number30Player nameSakala
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Squad number37Player nameArfield
Line-ups
PSV Eindhoven
Formation 4-2-3-1
1Benítez
3Teze5Ramalho Silva4Obispo31Max
15Gutiérrez6Sangaré
28Saibari23Veerman11Gakpo
9de Jong
- 1Benítez
- 3Teze
- 5Ramalho SilvaBooked at 27minsSubstituted forMweneat 62′minutesBooked at 68mins
- 4ObispoBooked at 84mins
- 31MaxSubstituted forvan Ginkelat 85′minutesBooked at 88mins
- 15GutiérrezSubstituted forTilat 62′minutes
- 6Sangaré
- 28SaibariSubstituted forAlves Moraisat 76′minutes
- 23Veerman
- 11Gakpo
- 9de JongSubstituted forSimonsat 45′minutesBooked at 90mins
Substitutes
- 2Hoever
- 7Simons
- 8van Ginkel
- 16Drommel
- 20Til
- 22Branthwaite
- 24Waterman
- 25Alves Morais
- 26Luckassen
- 27Bakayoko
- 29Mwene
- 33Moreira de Oliveira
Rangers
Formation 4-2-3-1
33McLaughlin
2Tavernier6Goldson19Sands31Barisic
4Lundstram18Kamara
11Lawrence71Tillman14Kent
9Colak
- 33McLaughlin
- 2Tavernier
- 6Goldson
- 19Sands
- 31BarisicBooked at 72mins
- 4LundstramBooked at 64mins
- 18KamaraSubstituted forArfieldat 73′minutes
- 11LawrenceSubstituted forWrightat 73′minutes
- 71Tillman
- 14KentBooked at 66mins
- 9ColakSubstituted forSakalaat 90+2′minutes
Substitutes
- 1McGregor
- 3Yilmaz
- 8Jack
- 10Davis
- 17Matondo
- 23Wright
- 28McCrorie
- 30Sakala
- 37Arfield
- 38King
- 44Devine
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69Ure
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