Luuk de Jong speaks out on Rangers revenge verdict in Champions League
PSV striker Luuk de Jong has said that the Dutch giants aren’t focused on taking revenge on Rangers in the Champions League play-off after the Light Blues defeated them at the same stage last year.
Under the management of Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Rangers beat PSV across the two legs to ensure that they made it into the Champions League group stage, where they ultimately struggled, failing to win a single point.
A lot has changed at Ibrox since the two sides last faced off with several new signings and Michael Beale taking over as manager, but regardless of past results, the visitors don’t appear to be viewing Tuesday’s (22 August) first leg as an opportunity to right past wrongs.
Speaking ahead of the play-off, as quoted by the Daily Record (21 August), former Barcelona striker de Jong said: “It shouldn’t just be about taking revenge on Rangers. This is about so much more, about realising how great it would be to make it to the group stage of the Champions League again. That’s the same regardless of who we are playing against.
“We are all focussing on Rangers. After the deep disappointment of last year, we have to make sure that it does go our way.”
To basics
So much has changed at Ibrox in the past 12 months that it is hard to view this as a repeat of a grudge match from a year ago, realistically, it is nothing more than a straight shoot-out for the Champions League and that’s what makes it such an opportunity.
Rangers need to ensure that they match the energy of the Dutch side, who seem to be entirely focused on advancing themselves rather than being concerned at all about the results of years gone by. Too much emotion could see the game fall out of their hands.
The Light Blues have won in the play-offs much more recently than their Dutch visitors, however, that ultimately counts for absolutely nothing when both sides step out onto the Ibrox pitch on Tuesday night, especially when few of Beale’s squad were involved last year.
PSV are by no means a weak side and will provide a genuine test for Rangers across both legs and the Gers will likely have to lift their performances from the opening weeks of the season to ensure they make it back-to-back seasons with Champions League football on the blue side of Glasgow.
In other Rangers news, Ianis Hagi has claimed that the Gers are at Champions League “level” this season