Five-star PSV Eindhoven wiped the floor with Go Ahead Eagles ahead of their blockbuster clash with Rangers on Tuesday night.
Ruud van Nistelrooy's men were razor sharp in the 5-2 romp as they punished their Eredivisie rivals' indiscipline with a goal rout. Go Ahead's Mats Deijl was shown a red card while it was poised at 1-1 during the first half. Luuk De Jong's opener had been cancelled out by Isac Lidberg's strike for the hosts. However, all of that good work to peg PSV was undone when Deijl was given his marching orders.
And that massive error sparked a shifting of the gears as talismanic Xavi Simons made it 2-1 before Armando Obispo struck minutes laters. A pair of goals, both in injury time showed a team hell-bent on getting their business completed early. Simons then added another in the second half before Oliver Valaker Edvardsen briefly added some gloss to the score before Joey Veerman struck. And Rangers scouts, be it in person or when they access the game tape, will see a side boast a ruthless streak in the style of their manager - one of world football's most lethal marksmen of the 21st century.
The frenzied finish to the first half allowed PSV to coast past a team who had little answers for their esteemed guests on a sun-kissed Saturday evening in the city of Deventer. And another word for Simons - the man Rafael van der Vaart reckons is budding world superstar due to his instant impact under van Nistelrooy.
And now all roads lead to Glasgow for a manager who knows exactly what his team are in for. The 46-year-old was part of a star studded PSV team who were ripped to shreds in 1999, with his own penalty a mere crumb of comfort on a night when his team were battered 5-2.
But the current crop have plenty of firepower that appears ready to duke it out with Alfredo Morelos, Antonio Colak and Malik TIllman.
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