Colak sinks PSV Eindhoven to put Rangers in Champions League

For the first time in 15 years, both members of the Old Firm will be in the Champions League group stage, as Rangers ended a 12-year exile via a famous win on another glorious European night.

It was Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team who held their nerve against that coached by his close friend Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Antonio Colak’s goal came as PSV, frustrated by their dominance of shots and possession failing to result in an opener, coughed up a mistake. The outstanding Malik Tillman forced the error that led to Rangers joining Celtic in toThursday’s draw.

After last season’s run to the Europa League final, canny Rangers’ aptitude for big European nights told against inexperienced, impetuous opponents, who lost much of their threat once their leading striker, Luuk de Jong, had been forced off with injury. Rangers seized their moment, before digging in fiercely for victory.

PSV had been given the weekend off by the Dutch football association to ease their burden. Qualifying for the group stages would be good for the Dutch game as a whole, a levity not handed to Rangers by the SFA.

Instead, the weekend’s draw with Hibernian, a red card handed to Alfredo Morelos, had cast a shadow, with Van Bronckhorst ruling the striker was “not ready to play” any part. The scoring burden would fall on Colak, whose goals for Malmo knocked out Rangers out of this competition last season.

To follow last week’s high-quality draw at Ibrox, Rangers ran a gauntlet of PSV fans swarming over their team bus on the way into the Philips Stadium. A delayed start was requested after scenes Van Bronckhorst said were “the worst I’ve seen as a player or manager”. But with one change, Steven Davis dropped for the greater energy of Glen Kamara, Rangers