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      Tottenham get easy draw in Champions League against Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting Lisbon and Marseille in Group D

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      TOTTENHAM have landed a dream Champions League draw which includes taking on Eintracht Frankfurt.Antonio Conte’s side were placed in Pot 2 alongside fellow English sides Chelsea and Liverpool.

      Tottenham are back in the Champions League after two years awayCredit: Getty
      But they got the rub of the green as the balls were pulled out.
      Spurs will be expected to progress through to the knockout stages.
      As well as facing German club Frankfurt in Group D, the North Londoners also have Portuguese outfit Sporting Lisbon and French giants Marseille.
      Due to the World Cup in November, the six matches are crammed into three blocks of back-to-back gameweeks.
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      Those will be played on September 6/7 and 13/14, October 4/5 and 11/12 then October 25/26 and November 1/2.
      Tottenham reached the final in 2019 – losing to Liverpool in Madrid – but failed to qualify for the Champions League in the last two seasons.
      They had one Europa League run and then were booted out of the Conference League last year after being hit with Covid.
      However, Arsenal’s slip-ups at the end of last season saw them sneak into fourth and claim a place at Europe’s top table.
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      Tottenham have shipped out dead weight in Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Joe Rodon on loan while Steven Bergwijn moved to Ajax on a permanent deal.
      However, their strong recruitment means Ivan Perisic, Yves Bissouma, Djed Spence, Clement Lenglet and Richarlison are all available.
      Coupled together with Conte’s experience – albeit he has never won the European Cup – Spurs will be hopeful of progressing to the knockout rounds. More

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      Celtic land huge draw with Real Madrid in Champions League – and tough trip to face Shakhtar Donetsk in Group F

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      CELTIC have learned their fate for the Champions League group stage – which includes a clash with Spanish giants Real Madrid.The Scottish champions were put into Pot 4 for this evening’s draw.
      Ange Postecoglou’s troops will face Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk
      Celtic are making a return to the Champions League group stagesCredit: KENNY RAMSAY
      And that meant they were guaranteed to be pitted against some of the European big boys.
      So it proved as the Hoops fell into Group F with Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk.
      Fans of the Glasgow club were quick to comment on the tough draw, with one saying: “Not bad at all!”
      Another said: “That’s more than capable of finishing 2nd bhoys HWFG.”
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      And another said: “Absolutely buzzing.”
      One chimed in: “Pumping.”
      “We can do them all. Bring it! Hail Hail my Bhoys.”
      Due to the World Cup in November, the six matches are crammed into three blocks of back-to-back gameweeks.
      Those will be played on September 6/7 and 13/14, October 4/5 and 11/12 then October 25/26 and November 1/2.
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      Celtic’s away clash with Shakhtar will take place in Poland due to the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.
      Celtic’s return to the Champions League group stages is their first campaign in Europe’s elite club competition since the 2017-18 season.
      In that season, the 1967 European champions had Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.
      They conceded a whopping 17 goals in the four matches against the two heavyweights.
      Celtic won the Scottish Premiership last year, wrestling the title back from arch-rivals Rangers.
      The Hoops had a spectacular run of 26 wins and five draws from their final 31 games of the campaign.
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      Ange Postecoglou has bolstered his squad with the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Jota, Moritz Jenz and Sead Haksabanovic.
      Meanwhile ex-Huddersfield and Brighton playmaker Aaron Mooy arrived on a free.
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      Liverpool face Rangers in huge Battle of Britain as Chelsea, Man City and Spurs avoid big boys in Champions League draw

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      LIVERPOOL are set for an epic Battle of Britain after being drawn against Rangers in the Champions League group stage.England’s four representatives, as well as Scottish duo Celtic and Rangers, discovered their fates in Thursday’s draw in Istanbul.
      The full draw for the Champions League group stage
      And Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have an all-British bout against Rangers on their hands in Group A – as well as tough encounters with Ajax and Napoli.
      Meanwhile, Antonio Conte’s Tottenham are breathing sighs of relief after being drawn against Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting Lisbon and Marseille in Group D.
      But Pep Guardiola’s Man City have tricky ties against Sevilla, Erling Haaland’s old side Borussia Dortmund and Copenhagen in Group G.
      Finally, Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea will do battle against former players Fikayo Tomori and Olivier Giroud at AC Milan – as well as RB Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb in Group E.
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      English teams discovered their fate in the Champions League draw on ThursdayCredit: Getty
      Man City legend Yaya Toure did the honours as some tasty ties were madeCredit: Reuters
      Elsewhere in the draw, Porto, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and Club Brugge will play each other in a competieive Group B.
      Group C sees the draw of the tie, with Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Viktoria Plzen grouped together.
      The draw will see Robert Lewandowski return to Germany after his controversial Camp Nou transfer this summer.
      Meanwhile, Group F has defending champs Real up against RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic.
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      The final lot sees PSG, Juventus, Benfica and Maccabi Haifa facing off in Group H, with Angel Di Maria returning to Paris after his Turin switch.
      This season’s group stage will be packed into just nine weeks ahead of the winter World Cup.
      Teams usually get 12 weeks to complete all six matches.
      The first games will be played on September 6th.
      And the group stage runs all the way until November 2 – just 18 days before kick-off in Qatar.
      There will then be a lengthy gap before the knockout stages start.
      The last-16 ties run from February 14 to March 15.
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      The quarters will be played in April, with the semis in May.
      And this season’s final will take place on June 10 at Istanbul’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Turkey. More

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      Uefa Champions League group stage draw LIVE: Stream free, TV channel and pots for Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs and Man City

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      THE biggest clubs in Europe are about learn their fate as Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham get set for the Champions League draw.And the four English entrants will be joined by Rangers and Celtic, who are together in a Champions League group stage draw for the first time in 12 years.
      Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Gers beat PSV Eindhoven in qualifying after a thrilling 1-0 win in Philips Stadion last night, clinching the tie 3-2 on aggregate.
      The dream for all of these teams will be to take the trophy off Champions Real Madrid, who beat Liverpool 1-0 in the final in Paris in May.
      Country protection will be in place for the draw, meaning no team can draw a club from the same nation until the quarter-final stage.
      Find out all you need to know about the group stage draw…
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      Start time: 4.45pm
      TV channel: BT Sport 1
      Free live stream: BT Sport YouTube/UEFA website
      Pot 1: Real Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt, Manchester City, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Porto, Ajax
      Pot 2: Liverpool, Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, RB Leipzig, Tottenham Hotspur
      Pot 3: Borussia Dortmund, Red Bull Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter, Napoli, Sporting Lisbon, Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica
      Pot 4: Club Brugge, Celtic, Marseille, Maccabi Haifa, Viktoria Plzen, Rangers, Dinamo Zagreb, Copenhagen

      Legends as far as the eye can see
      One thing which is always interesting in these draws is getting to see how time has been to some of our favourite players from years gone by.
      Juventus vice-president Pavel Nedved arrives at the venue looking as though he is still ready to step in for any potential reboot of ‘Roadhouse’.
      What a fantastic midfielder Nedved was.
      The draw ceremony is just about to begin.
      Credit: AFP
      Final preparations taking place
      Everything is being polished and arranged ready for the group stage draw in Istanbul, Turkey.
      As the player and club representatives arrive, it is starting to fill up slowly but surely.
      Conversations will be about who they do and don’t want to face in the early stages of the competition.
      Credit: Getty
      Famous faces wherever you look
      As the draw itself attracts representatives of all the clubs involved along with a lot of ex-players, there are lots familiar faces on show.
      Edwin Van der Sar, the ex-Man Utd goalkeeper and now Chief Executive at Ajax arrives at the venue.
      Good to see the Dutchman showing his sense of humour as the cameras capture him.

      Keeping the dream alive
      This is the most coveted trophy in European football.
      Nobody ever forgets winning it, with clubs celebrating their wins in their club’s history such is the size of the prize.
      Of the six British teams entering this season’s competition, only Rangers, Tottenham and Man City have yet to win the trophy.
      Credit: @ChampionsLeague
      Time to meet the don
      One man will live in history in this competition as a manager, Carlo Ancelotti.
      The current Real Madrid manager has now won the trophy four times (twice with AC Milan, twice with Real Madrid).
      He is also the first and only person to have managed teams in five Champions League finals.
      His side go into today’s draw as the champions, looking to defend their crown.
      Credit: Polaris
      Form temporary, class permanent
      As we edge closer to the big draw, we take a look at the all-time top scorers in the Champions League group stages.
      With Cristiano Ronaldo not being involved in this season’s competition, it gives Lionel Messi a chance to extend the gap between the two.
      Credit: @ChampionsLeague
      From Russia without love
      There will be no Russian teams in this season’s Champions League as part of the UEFA punishment because of the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
      Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk will play their group games at Legia Warsaw’s Stadion Wojska Polskiego in Poland, almost 1,000 miles from Donetsk.
      That will be Shakhtar’s fourth different Champions League home ground away from their city since Donetsk was captured by pro-Russian separatists in 2014.
      Gio’s special night in Eindhoven
      Giovanni van Bronckhorst will be keen to see how his Glasgow Rangers fare in the draw after a memorable win against Ruud van Nistelrooy’s PSV side, booking their place in today’s draw.
      After a 2-2 stalemate at Ibrox in the first leg, the Dutch side were much fancied to progress to the group stages.
      It is 12 years since Rangers qualified for the Champions League group stages.
      Credit: Getty
      Time for City to exorcise demons
      During his reign at Man City, Pep Guardiola has won pretty much everything there is to win.
      However, there is one rather large elephant in the room, the Champions League.
      Their rivals laud their inability to perform on the biggest stage of them all and if Pep were to leave City at the end of his contract, it would be the stain on his CV.
      Having added Erling Haaland amongst others to their squad, this season could be the best chance for some time for Pep Guardiola to make winning the trophy their priority.
      Who are punters fancying?
      It is always an interesting read to see who the fans are putting their money on to reign supreme in this season’s competition.
      Betfair have compiled a list to show where they are seeing the money going as it stands.
      Percentage of single bets placed on clubs to win the Champions League 2022/23:
      Man City: 21%
      Tottenham: 16.4%
      Liverpool: 15.4%
      PSG: 8.9%
      Real Madrid: 7.8%
      Barcelona: 7.69%
      Bayern Munich: 6.5%
      Chelsea: 5%
      Atletico Madrid: 2.8%
      Juventus: 2.2%
      AC Milan, Inter Milan: 1.77%
      Napoli: 1.2%
      Sevilla: 0.7%
      Celtic, Sporting Lisbon, Borussia Dortmund: 0.5%
      Frankfurt: 0.2%
      Show me the money
      As ever, football fans have been betting on who they think will win this season’s Champions League trophy.
      Here are the latest odds from Betfair.
      Champions League winner 2022/23:
      Man City: 11/4
      Liverpool: 5/1
      PSG: 6/1
      Bayern Munich: 7/1
      Barcelona: 12/1
      Real Madrid: 12/1
      Chelsea: 12/1
      Tottenham: 16/1
      Inter Milan: 25/1
      Juventus: 33/1
      Celtic: 250/1
      Rangers: 250/1
      Familiar faces, unfamiliar surroundings
      As the transfer window has served up some interesting moves this summer, we will be seeing some big names in kits we are not used to them donning.
      Robert Lewandowski will be wearing the colours of Barcelona in this season’s competition, while Erling Haaland has swapped Dortmund for Man City.
      Pep Guardiola will be hoping that the striker is the missing piece of the jigsaw which will see them win their first ever Champions League trophy.
      Semi-automated offside technology
      This year’s Champions League will see a camera based system judge offside calls in the group stages.
      It was approved last month by FIFA for the World Cup and it will use multiple cameras to track players limbs from the moment when a key pass is made.
      There has been a lot of controversy in Champions League history but this technology is being brought in to try and eradicate the errors.
      A pot of gold
      There could be some tasty match-ups this year.

      Champions of the Champions League
      Real Madrid lead the charts by some way when it comes to Champions League triumphs.
      Below is a list of some of the winners:

      Real Madrid – 14
      AC Milan – 7
      Liverpool – 6
      Bayern Munich – 6
      Barcelona – 5
      Ajax – 4
      Manchester United and Inter Milan – 3
      Benfica, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Porto – 2

      Ready to start changing Gers
      Rangers have turned up fashionably late to the party but they are here and are loving every single moment of it.
      The Scottish giants pipped Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s side to the final Champions League qualification spot having beaten PSV Eindhoven in Holland yesterday.
      This meant that Rangers have finally made a return to top-tier European football for the first time in twelve years.
      And they join bitter rivals Celtic in Pot 4, however, both could face hard opponents due to the pot that they are in.
      Time to rewind the clocks
      Real Madrid became the Kings of Europe for a 14th time in last season’s competition.
      Liverpool fans, look away now.
      Credit: Getty
      A rundown of the pots
      There are four pots for the Champions League group stage draw which are then allocated into groups of eight.
      Pot 1: Real Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt, Manchester City, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Porto, Ajax
      Pot 2: Liverpool, Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, RB Leipzig, Tottenham Hotspur
      Pot 3: Borussia Dortmund, Red Bull Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter, Napoli, Sporting Lisbon, Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica
      Pot 4: Club Brugge, Celtic, Marseille, Maccabi Haifa, Viktoria Plzen, Rangers, Dinamo Zagreb, Copenhagen
      Welcome to the Champions League group stage draw
      Good morning, good afternoon or good evening wherever you are tuned in from.
      One thing that we all have in common is the anticipation of an exciting group stage draw.
      Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs could all be in for a tough group if luck is not on their side.
      But equally, the four English sides will put themselves favourites to qualify no matter who stands in front of them as they have all either won this competition or been in the final.
      Keep refreshing the page folks as we will have all the latest gossip and news ahead of what is set to be a scintillating draw.
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      Champions League draw simulated as Chelsea and Rangers land in NIGHTMARE group and Tottenham get Real Madrid

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      PREMIER LEAGUE clubs could face some tricky teams in the Champions League group stage this year.They will be awaiting the draw with excitement but some trepidation – as will Rangers after the Scottish outfit qualified for the competition for the first time in 12 years by beating PSV.
      SunSport’s simulated Champions League draw
      Tottenham and Chelsea are at risk of being drawn in the group of deathCredit: Getty
      Manchester City are the only Premier League side in pot oneCredit: EPA
      Rangers have qualified for the Champions League for the first time in 12 yearsCredit: Getty
      Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham and last season’s runners-up Liverpool will all be in the hat for the highly-anticipated draw taking place in Instanbul at 4:45pm BST.
      Only Premier League champions City are in pot one and that means Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs could draw the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
      Meanwhile, City will be looking to avoid Barcelona, Juventus and Atletico Madrid, who are included in pot two along with the English trio.
      Rangers and Celtic are both in pot four and are at risk of being involved in a group of death.

      SunSport has conducted a Champions League draw simulation and it has not been favourable for Chelsea or Spurs.
      In Group F Thomas Tuchel will take his side to former clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund as well as Rangers, who reached the Europa League final last season.
      The Blues have failed to beat PSG in their past four meetings and the French side have got off to a lightning start in Ligue 1 this season, scoring 17 goals in three wins out of three.
      Meanwhile, Spurs’ draw may be even worse as they were lumped with reigning champions Real Madrid, as well as Napoli and Celtic.
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      Tottenham are unbeaten against Los Blancos in two matches but would be coming up against some of the best players in Europe with Karim Benzema, Vinicius Jr, Luka Modric and Antonio Rudiger included in the 2021-22 team of the tournament.
      Napoli could also prove a tough test as Antonio Conte has only won five out of 14 games he has managed against the Italian side.
      In the remainder of our draw City face a much easier test with Juventus the only side likely to cause them problems in a group that also includes Shakhtar Donetsk and Club Brugge.
      It is a similar story for Liverpool who will fancy their chances against Ajax, Bayer Leverkusen and Danish champions Copenhagen. More

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      Cristiano Ronaldo discovers FINAL transfer options as Rangers fans eye shock swoop for Man Utd star after Euro boost

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      CRISTIANO RONALDO has SIX more clubs to choose from in his bid to play Champions League football this season.The remaining qualifying ties for Europe’s premier competition took place this week.
      Cristiano Ronaldo is running out of transfer optionsCredit: Getty
      Rangers qualified for the Champions League after beating PSV Eindhoven 3-2 on aggregateCredit: Getty
      Rangers beat PSV Eindhoven 3-2 on aggregate to reach the Champions League for the first time in 12 years.
      And now Gers fans are eyeing a shock swoop for Manchester United star Ronaldo.
      One Rangers supporter wrote: “Maybe Ronaldo should join Rangers. Can play CL football alongside Lord John Lundstram.”
      Another added: “Ronaldo should join Rangers, since he wants to play in the champions league, life in Scotland is cool.”
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      And a third said: “Ronaldo wants champions league football, sign for the Glasgow Rangers.”
      Earlier in the window CR7 reportedly asked United to let him leave in search of Champions League football.
      But he is now short of options after seeing proposed moves to the likes of Atletico Madrid, Napoli and Sporting Lisbon collapse.
      However, the superstar now has more options as Rangers were joined by five other clubs in qualifying for the Champions League this week.
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      Benfica are the pick of the teams but their rivalry with his boyhood club Sporting means the Portuguese club could be out of the question.
      That leaves Copenhagen, Dinamo Zagreb, Maccabi Haifa and FC Viktoria Plzeň – none of whom are likely to appeal to Ronaldo.
      Marseille are the latest club to be linked with Ronaldo, who can also offer Champions League football, but such rumours have upset club president Pablo Longoria who insists signing players like CR7 is not within the project. More

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      When is the 2023 Champions League final and where is it being held?

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      NO trophy in European club football is bigger than the Champions League – and hosting the final has become a badge of honour for most cities.Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced UEFA chiefs to strip St. Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena of earning the rights to host it last season.
      Ataturk Olympic Stadium will host the 2023 Champions League finalCredit: Getty
      Resulting in the mantle being passed on to Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
      But when is the Champions League final and where is it being held?
      When is the 2023 Champions League final?
      The final of club football’s top-tier European tournament will take place on Saturday, June 10, 2023.
      However, the group stages of the Champions League get underway on Tuesday, September 14, 2022.
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      This will be the 68th season of the competition and the 31st since it was renamed from the European Cup to the UEFA Champions League.
      Real Madrid secured their record-breaking 14th triumph in the 2022 final courtesy of Vinicius Jr’ 59th-minute strike against Liverpool.
      Pre-match build-up and the kick-off times will be confirmed closer to the date.
      Where is the 2023 Champions League final being held?
      Istanbul, Turkiye has won the rights to host the 2023 Champions League final.
      Liverpool incredibly beat AC Milan in the last final held at Ataturk Olympic StadiumCredit: PA:Press Association
      The huge fixture will be played at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium and it boasts a seated capacity of approximately 75,000 supporters.
      One of the most iconic Champions League finals was played at this stadium which saw Liverpool pull off a sensational comeback against AC Milan before beating them on penalties.
      Ataturk Olympic Stadium opened in 2002 and was built to support Turkey’s bid to stage the 2008 Olympic Games but it lost out to Beijing National Stadium in China.
      However, the Turkey national team uses Ataturk Olympic Stadium as their home venue.
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      What do the 2023 Champions League winners get?
      Winners of the final will be granted a guaranteed place in the 2023/2024 Champions League competition.
      A chance to win the Club World Cup against other teams across the globe.
      And they will take on the winners of the Europa League for a chance to secure the UEFA Super Cup just before the new season gets underway.
      Real Madrid won the Champions League last season after beating LiverpoolCredit: Getty
      Who has won the Champions League the most?
      Real Madrid – 14
      AC Milan – 7
      Liverpool – 6
      Bayern Munich – 6
      Barcelona – 5
      Ajax – 4
      Manchester United and Inter Milan – 3
      Benfica, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Porto – 2 More

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      PSV 0 Rangers 1: Antonio Colak the new Ibrox hero as he kickstarts Light Blues Champions League dream

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      ALFREDO MORELOS didn’t travel with the squad for tonight’s clash after a dramatic fallout with Giovanni van Bronckhorst.  But there’s a new Rangers hero after Antonio Colak’s goal sends his side through to the Champions’ League group stages for the first time since the 2010/11 season.  
      Rangers players celebrate Antonio Colak’s goalCredit: Getty
      PSV fans did all they could before the match to prevent a Scottish party in Eindhoven tonight.  
      They tried to disturb the Rangers players’ sleeps last night by letting off fireworks outside their hotel.  
      And they even stopped the Gers team bus in its tracks on its way to the stadium as they hoped to disturb their preparation for the match.  
      But it wasn’t enough to put an end to the Euro resurgence under Van Bronckhorst as Rangers came out on top to win 3-2 on aggregate.  
      Both sides knew a whopping £40milion jackpot and a place in Europe’s most prestigious competition was on the cards for the winner of tonight’s tie.  
      And the Light Blues battled for 90 minutes to overcome their 2-2 stalemate at Ibrox last week as they held PSV at bay on Dutch soil. 
      They will now join Celtic in tomorrow’s group stage draw in Istanbul to find out their European fate and to see which European giants they will face up against in the coming months.  
      The absence of target man Morelos was the talking point before the match tonight after Van Bronckhorst left him out of the squad, leaving Colak as his only option up top.
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      He put his faith in the Croatian hitman and it paid off as he added another goal to his Rangers tally.
      And it won’t get any sweeter than his strike tonight.
      Van Bronckhorst opted for a familiar back four, with Jon McLaughlin getting the nod between the sticks.
      Borna Barisic, James Tavernier, Connor Goldson and James Sands lined up at the back.
      Glen Kamara earned a surprise start in midfield alongside John Lundstram and Tom Lawrence.
      Colak lead the line, supported by Ryan Kent and Malik Tillman on the wings.
      It was an unchanged side for Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was confident in the players who held Rangers to a draw last week.
      And it was his Dutch team who controlled possession early doors with Joey Veerman dictating the tempo in the middle of the park.  
      The 23-year-old came close to agreeing a deal with Rangers last summer, and he showed fans what they were missing out on as he controlled the Eredivise side’s midfield tonight.  
      It was the deadly duo Luuk De Jong and Man Utd target Cody Gakpo who came close for PSV in the opening few minutes though, but they couldn’t direct their efforts goalwards.  
      The Gers opted for an extremely high line at the back, allowing the likes of Gakpo and Ismael Saibari the space to run in behind.  
      But after weathering the early storm, it was Kent who burst onto the scene to create his side’s first real chance of the game.  

      On the 12th minute, the winger darted at Jordan Teze and Andre Ramalho as he cut in on his right foot for a shot, but it was well-saved by Walter Benitez.  
      Kent wasn’t done there though as he delivered a dangerous cross in for Colak just moments later, but the Croatian failed to get on the end of it.  
      The passages of play gave Rangers confidence as they started to grow into the tie.  
      By 20 minutes in, the roles had reversed and it was Van Bronckhorst’s men who looked the home team in the clash.  
      And Lundstram was nearly the man who broke the deadlock around the half hour mark as he fired a thunderbolt from outside the box towards Benitez, but it flew wide of the post.  
      At the other end of the park, teammate Sands nearly became the Ibrox villain as he gifted De Jong the ball from a goal-kick.  
      Luckily, defensive partner Goldson was there to step in and deny Gakpo though, after he was handed a clear-cut chance by the 38-cap international.  
      It didn’t take long for De Jong to have an even better chance after he was given the ball on a plate on the 39th minute.  
      Saibari whipped in a fantastic cross which beat both Sands and Goldson on the lunge, but fortunately for Rangers, De Jong wasn’t quick enough and it trickled away out of danger.  
      Teze then tried a similar chance, this time reaching the target man who beat Goldson, but McLaughlin was there to parry it clear.  
      The half-time whistle came at the perfect time for the Light Blues as PSV were on the attack yet again.  
      This time it was Gakpo who was played through by Erick Gutierrez, and the forward got the better of Goldson, but couldn’t keep his shot down as Rangers were let off with another chance.  
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      Rangers were handed a huge boost after the break as De Jong was forced off through injury to be replaced by Xavi Simons.  
      The wonderkid is no stranger to a goal after netting two in two in the Dutch top flight since arriving at the club, but De Jong caused the visitors all sorts of bother in the first half.  
      Despite losing their key man, PSV started the second 45 just like the first.  
      They were in control.  
      Lawrence showed them they couldn’t allow Rangers any space though, as the playmaker came ever so close to grabbing the opening goal.  
      He danced round the PSV defenders before having a pop from long range, which saw the ball smash off the crossbar and back into play.  
      But while it was Van Bronckhorst’s side’s best chance of the half, it wasn’t quite as good as their break of play moments later.  
      Tillman cleverly intercepted a goal-kick from Benitez as he tried to play the ball out from the back.  
      He snatched the ball off them in the box and picked out Colak who was free and waiting in the six-yard box for a cutback.  
      And the Croatian was able to smash it home into an empty net to fire Rangers ahead.  
      Van Bronckhorst would have been happy to see anyone find the net tonight, but it will have been extra special to see Colak being the hero as he stepped up to the plate in Morelos’ absence.  
      They were ahead on the night and in the tie, but it was far from over.
      Phillip Max and Gakpo came close with chances, only to be denied by McLaughlin in the Rangers goal.
      The Gers continued to batten up the hatches as the Dutch pushed more and more men forward.
      But they couldn’t breakthrough the disciplined defence as Rangers saw out the final minutes to keep an important clean sheet, which fired them through to the group stages.

      Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page  More