It was always going to happen when the draw was made, a repeat of last season’s Champions League play-off tie and Rangers v PSV Eindhoven part II.
The Dutch outfit are already bigging themselves up and it is a clash that is sure to be hotly contested.
Rangers will go in as second favourites and a post by PSV Eindhoven’s social medial team gives a glimpse of what their motivation is.
Rangers and PSV Eindhoven go again for Champions League
A simple “Time for revenge” was added to the Eredivisie side’s X site post after confirmation of the play-off round.
Rangers overcame PSV Eindhoven last season despite them being in fine goal-scoring form and their 7-2 aggregate win against Sturm Graz shows that they have started the season well again.
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The result in 2022 obviously still rankles though.
Rangers don’t need any more motivation but perhaps the comments made at the time by Joey Veerman, who was once linked with a move to Ibrox, should be pinned on the dressing room wall:
” I don’t think it’s fair that Rangers play Champions League and we don’t. I don’t think they created a single chance here.
“What did we do wrong? We missed two great chances before half time. We had to score them.
“And I would have preferred to play as a ‘No.8’ instead of a ‘No.10’, but I tried my best.”
Or, a few months later, when he still, clearly, hadn’t recovered from the defeat:
“By far the most terrible moment of the season was losing to Rangers in the Champions League decider. And we lost to a team who were very mediocre.”
Expecting to win is never a good trait to have in the Champions League, anyone can beat anyone on their day and Rangers will be going all out to beat PSV Eindhoven again.
They may be out for revenge but we will be out to prove that lightning can, and will, strike twice.