EINDHOVEN, Netherlands: Rangers returned to the Champions League group stage following a 12-year absence and a humiliating financial crisis, advancing through the playoff round Wednesday by winning 1-0 at PSV Eindhoven.
Rangers will take their place in Thursday’s group-stage draw thanks to Croatia forward Antonio Colak’s 60th-minute goal in the second leg to seal a 3-2 win on aggregate score.
A decade ago, Rangers were liquidated as a club and restarted in the fourth tier of Scottish football.
Now they join city rival Celtic, who got direct entry as the Scottish league winners, in the lucrative Champions League that is worth tens of millions of euros (dollars) to each.
Copenhagen also advanced Wednesday by holding Turkish champion Trabzonspor to a 0-0 draw after winning the home leg 2-1 last week.
Dinamo Zagreb became the last team to qualify after beating Norwegian club Bodo/Glimt 4-1 after extra time in Croatia. Substitute Josip Drmic scored the decisive goal in the 117th minute and then set up another for Petar Bockaj three minutes later.
Dinamo had led 2-1 after 90 minutes to level the aggregate score after Glimt won 1-0 in Norway last week.
UEFA abolished the away-goals rule last year, which would have sent the Norwegian champion through for a first Champions League appearance.
