Fireworks required on the road for Rangers after Champions League draw

Ruud van Nistelrooy’s PSV Eindhoven side showed no effects of late-night pyrotechnics outside their Glasgow hotel… now fireworks are required on the road for Rangers if they are to make Champions League group stage

• Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side were held at Ibrox after conceding late goal 
• PSV manager Ruud van Nistelrooy will leave Ibrox happier than his countryman 
• The Dutch side showed no effects of disturbed sleep from fireworks in Glasgow
• Rangers’ results away from home in Europe have seen mixed results

Long after the 2am disturbance outside PSV Eindhoven’s hotel, the fireworks were still popping in Glasgow.

A game bursting with compelling drama and sharp shifts in momentum lit up Ibrox before its conclusion left Rangers feeling somewhat singed.

Hope remains. For sure. But next week’s trip to the Netherlands will need to deliver the spectacular.

PSV Eindhoven will be full of confidence after holding Rangers to a draw at Ibrox Stadium

Ruud van Nistelrooy will feel brighter about the second leg in the Netherlands than compatriot Giovanni van Bronckhorst

At full-time, two Dutchmen shared a handshake on the touchline before considering respective returns to their homeland. There could be little question Ruud van Nistelrooy exited Ibrox feeling brighter about that prospect than Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

Van Nistelrooy’s side showed no effects of the attempt — apparently by some Rangers ultras — to disturb their sleep with pyrotechnics.

PSV went in front, lost their way for a spell and fell behind to a epic goalkeeping howler. Still, though, they summoned the energy required to claim an equaliser and tip the balance of this Champions League play-off in their favour.

And so to Eindhoven. The Philips Stadium is not Ibrox, but Van Nistelrooy has been bullish about the lift this 30,000-capacity arena can give his players. He points to the extra-time win over Monaco in the previous round as a prime example, arguing the passion from the stands was instrumental in pushing PSV over the line in a tie they looked set to lose with 70 minutes on the clock.

That was an admittedly huge victory but, while the head coach and some key players have since changed, their prior track record shouldn’t inspire despair on Rangers’ part.

Van Nistelrooy’s side showed no effects of late night fireworks outside their Glasgow hotel

Last season, PSV lost at home to Monaco, drew with Real Sociedad and defeated Sturm Graz as they missed out on Europa League progression. A drop into the Conference League saw a win over Maccabi Tel Aviv and a draw with Copenhagen before Leicester City won in the Netherlands.

The counter-argument, of course, comes from Rangers’ own results away from Edmiston Drive. Away nights in Europe have been a mixed bag. If the incredible 4-2 thumping of Borussia Dortmund on their own manor was the undisputed high point under Van Bronckhorst, losing 2-0 to Union Saint-Gilloise earlier this month was easily the nadir. A non-performance, lacking in pretty much all the necessary ingredients, it was only rectified by a second leg comeback of historic proportions last week.

A dead-rubber draw in Lyon joins single-goal losses in Braga, Belgrade and Leipzig in completing the list. Belgrade was the only second leg among that latter trio. And Rangers took a 3-0 advantage to Serbia.

They will cross the North Sea with parity. And you have to say it was a fair result on the balance of play. Two extremely well-matched teams saw the success of their tactical plans ebb and flow over the course of Tuesday’s 90 minutes.

Van Bronckhorst’s big call had been the inclusion of Steven Davis. The 37-year-old midfielder was here when Rangers last played in the Champions League proper. And here when PSV visited on Europa League business later in the 2010/11 season.

He hadn’t started a European match since Van Bronckhorst’s bow against Sparta Prague last November, yet here he was — partnering John Lundstram in a game of acute significance.

There was additional fascination in one of his direct opponents. Rangers had been interested in signing Joey Veerman before he made a £5million move from Heerenveen to PSV last season. It was the one who got away against the one who’s still got it.

Veerman was first into the fray, roaming the pitch in search of spaces from where damage could be inflicted upon the Rangers defence.

They were soon located. After Luuk de Jong had missed an early chance for the visitors, Jon McLaughlin had to bolt from his line to smother an enticing Veerman through-ball.

A brilliant pass swept wide right to Ismael Saibari put Rangers on the back foot again. The winger should have done better with the opportunity it provided.

Van Bronckhorst’s side will need fireworks on the pitch if they are to beat PSV in the Netherlands

By the time of Ibrahim Sangare’s opener, the first of two cheap concessions on a night of financial high stakes, Davis had started to exude influence. His finely-tuned football brain was essential in the Ibrox side shifting the balance of play back in their favour. Being level at the break was the least they merited.

Midway through the opening half, the Northern Ireland captain found his range with a lovely first-time knock inside for Malik Tillman to strike at goal. Then Tavernier was sent scampering away with another perfect piece of placement.

Those were just the warm-up acts. Many exquisite elements created Colak’s 40th minute equaliser — James Tavernier’s low cross, the Croat’s pristine finish — but none sparkled quite so much as the instant pass Davis angled into his captain’s path. Measured to the millimetre, it was like the application of a scalpel to PSV’s back four. Absolutely clinical.

Davis very nearly got himself in a spot of bother early in the second period, taking an additional touch in his own half as De Jong and Veerman both pressed hard.

When Davis then gave the ball with a slack pass, it was a sign of both him tiring and the general dip Van Bronckhorst’s men had suffered. PSV were starting to turn the screw. Cutting off routes for both Ryan Kent and Tavernier, they stifled their hosts’ width.

The blunder by Walter Benitez that gifted Rangers an advantage was the cue for Davis to make way for Glen Kamara. Fresh legs weren’t enough to see it through, though. Now more fireworks must be summoned in Eindhoven.

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