PSV EINDHOVEN manager Ruud van Nistelrooy was on the money with his assessment of his side’s 2-2 draw with Rangers at Ibrox as he described it as a “game of two halves”.
Rangers certainly held the upper hand heading into the interval after Antonio Colak’s expertly-taken goal brought Ibrox to his feet and the game back on level terms. However, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men were slow to emerge after the restart and, despite Tom Lawrence’s free-kick completing the turnaround, their Achilles heel from set-pieces leaves the tie finely poised heading over to Eindhoven next week.
Van Bronckhorst can feel aggrieved that his side didn't work PSV goalkeeper Walter Benitez – who blundered from Lawrence’s free-kick to give the Gers the lead – more than they did. Rangers owned more of the ball and fashioned a greater number of shots at goal, but it was the visitors who created chances of a higher quality throughout the evening.
A look at the xG trend line paints an accurate picture of the contest. Van Bronckhorst admitted that his players were “nervous” in the opening exchanges, although the concession of the opener sparked Rangers into action with Antonio Colak’s goal.
However, PSV regained the momentum in the second period and, although Lawrence’s fortuitous free-kick threatened to undermine the Dutch’s side endeavour, they responded impressively to falling behind. “After [the second goal] we tried to keep the momentum and go for the third goal, but we didn’t,” said van Bronckhorst post-match.
Van Nistelrooy’s men could also have snatched victory when Philipp Max drew a fine stop from Jon McLaughlin four minutes after PSV’s equaliser.
Rangers’ pass map from the first half shows the threatening combinations that they were able to create down the right-hand side involving James Tavernier, Steven Davis and Lawrence, which helped engineer Colak's strike.
However, van Bronckhorst’s side ceded territory in the second half, with Steven Davis’ influence waning while Malik Tillman struggled to get on the ball.
PSV, meanwhile, were keen to create overloads on the left-hand side, with a sweeping move down Rangers’ right leading to the corner in which Ibrahim Sangare opened the scoring in the first half.
Van Nistelrooy’s side then often looked to switch the ball to exploit the underload against Borna Barisic on their right-hand side, with Ismael Saibari boasting the highest xG threat for PSV.
Colak, meanwhile, enjoyed his best performance in a Rangers jersey, with his high shot volume reminiscent of Alfredo Morelos in these European ties. The spike in the Croatian’s Post-Shot xG value in his goal underlines the accuracy in which he was able to meet Tavernier’s pull-back first-time.
Lawrence, meanwhile, rode his luck with a free-kick that, on average, would only beat the goalkeeper three percent of the time. It was a horrific blunder that could still define this tie in Rangers’ favour next week.
The Ibrox side’s pressure map on the evening also highlights the frequency in which PSV looked to attack down the side of Tavernier and Lawrence. Cody Gakpo would often come inside while Max would have the run of the flank on the outside.
As anticipated pre-match, the Dutchmen looked to press when the ball went out to the flanks.
In the end, both teams couldn’t be separated and, in the words of van Bronckhorst after the game, it leaves “everything to play for” next week in Eindhoven.
“We could have had more in the game after going 2-1 up,” said the Gers boss “We could also have had a worse result than a draw.”
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