Before a ball was kicked there was some debate over what might represent a respectable, job-saving defeat for Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Against a swashbuckling, record-breaking Napoli side cutting a swathe through Group A few doubted that Rangers would leave the Diego Armando Maradona stadium a beaten team. The only question was, how badly?
After a 7-1 thrashing to Liverpool at home, two goals in the opening 16 minutes from Napoli striker Giovanni Simeone had supporters cowering behind the sofa to watch the rest of the first half. Tanguy Ndombele smashed an effort off the crossbar and Napoli were on their way to a club record of 12 straight wins in all competitions.
Rangers will take solace from a second half when they rallied slightly, Alfredo Morelos missing a glorious chance to pull back a goal. Entering the final 10 minutes, however, Leo Ostigard headed a third goal and the debate was resurrected.
Napoli striker Giovanni Simeone scored two goals in the opening 16 minutes against Rangers
Four goals or more and the rumblings for van Bronckhorst’s removal would have rivalled the crackle of Mount Vesuvius. Before kick-off most Rangers fans would have regarded a 3-0 defeat as an acceptable reflection of the gaping chasm between these two teams. So it proved.
Rangers could afford to lose here and retain some hope of finishing third in the group if Ajax lost at home to Liverpool. Victory for Jurgen Klopp’s side leaves last season’s Europa League finalists in need of a 5-0 win against the team which trounced them 4-0 in Amsterdam. Despite their second half rally, anything other than fourth place now will feel like the second coming of Maradona.
The list of teams who have finished pointless at the end of a Champions League campaign is longer than you might think. Club Brugge, Otelul Galati, Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Zilina, Levski Sofia, Marseille, Fenerbahce, Kosice, Partizan Belgrade, Rapid Vienna, Villareal, Anderlecht, Debrecen, Dynamo Kyiv and Spartak Moscow have all left football’s toughest playground with nothing but cuts and bruises to show for their efforts.
The biggest Champions League failure of all came in 2011/12 when Dinamo Zagreb, pitched into a group with Real Madrid, Lyon and Ajax and finished pointless with a goal difference of minus 19. Rangers are not there yet, but after five games the Ibrox side have scored one goal and shipped 17. This is a Champions League campaign which can’t end soon enough.
Simeone lashed a brilliant right foot strike across Allan McGregor into the far corner
Van Bronckhorst challenged his team to travel to Italy and show no fear. To play with personality and character and take the game to the team sitting top of Serie A. Yet when this Ibrox side lose one goal in this competition they tend to lose another quickly and so it was here. After a composed start Argentine striker Giovanni Simeone – son of Atletico Madrid coach Diego – scored two in five minutes. The night quickly became a grim exercise in damage limitation.
Unbeaten in their 16 outings so far Napoli claimed their record 12th straight win with relative. This despite a show of clemency from Luciano Spaletti, who rested six of his key players, including the impressive Roma matchwinner Victor Osimhen and Georgian prodigy Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
A team can lose momentum with too many changes. Against a decimated Rangers squad facing growing questions over their own strength in depth, however, they were never likely to overdose on the mercy.
Presented with a chance to pretty much win Group A ahead of a trip to Anfield, the chance to shatter the run of eleven straight wins set in 1930 offered another incentive to make this a difficult night for last season’s Europa League finalists. The only other unbeaten team in Europe’s big five leagues this season is PSG and, right now, the leaders of Serie A look unstoppable.
On loan from Hellas Verona Simeone claimed the opening goal after eleven minutes. Running on to a brilliant pass in behind the Rangers defence from skipper Giovanni Di Lorenzo. The Argentine took one touch with his left, then lashed a brilliant right foot strike across Allan McGregor into the far corner.
Simeone swooped in between Ben Davies and Leon King to net with a powerful header
It was another chastening night in the Champions League for Rangers, who have lost all five group games
Warned against another Liverpool style collapse by their manager the words of van Bronckhorst went unheeded. Starting only his second goal in the competition Simeone added a second inside five minutes, swooping in between the Rangers central defenders Ben Davies and Leon King to bullet Mario Rui’s perfectly weighted cross into the net with a powerful header.
Minutes later Ndombele cracked a stunning 20 yard strike off the crossbar after a mazy run and lay-off by Di Lorenzo. This, now, was becoming the night Rangers always feared. Against a Rangers team set up with a more attacking shape than they did against Livingston on Saturday Napoli were finding pockets of space everywhere.
Missing Connor Goldson, Ryan Jack, Glenn Kamara, Filip Helander, John Souttar and Kemar Roofe, the selection of Ridvan Yilmaz at left-back for his first Champions League start was a big call from van Bronckhorst. A £3.4million signing from Besiktas, the Turkish full-back had a difficult night in place of the benched Borna Barisic, slack play in his own area so nearly leading to a third Napoli goal for Giacomo Raspadori at the back post.
Alfredo Morelos missing a glorious chance to pull back a goal in the second-half
It was all too easy for Napoli and, oddly, that almost offered the Scottish Cup holders a way back before half-time.
John Lundstram’s booking ruled the midfielder out of next week’s final home game against Ajax before Malik Tillman’s neat footwork almost crafted a shot on goal. Offered time and space for a run at goal Alfredo Morelos actually managed one, a low strike pushed wide by Alex Meret in the Napoli keeper’s first action of the night.
A two goal deficit at half-time actually felt like a decent state of play for the Scots. Nevertheless, the second half still felt like a test of endurance. Drawing with Liverpool at half-time at Ibrox, the loss of six second half goals triggered a night of humiliation. If Napoli felt inclined to go for the jugular this could still become messy and detimental to the job prospects of the manager.
Despite Simeone threatening a hat-trick when he found space behind the defence to lob the ball over a stranded McGregor and wide they didn’t. Not really.
While Napoli’s capacity for explosive attacking was never in question, their levels of motivation were a different matter.
Morelos had opportunities to drag Rangers back into the game make the last half hour interesting before making way for Antonio Colak. The first saw the striker launch himselff into an acrobatic assault on a Ben Davies kncokdown, brave defending from Mario Rui denying Rangers a goal. The second was significantly better, the Colombian allowing an enticing low cross from Yilmaz to run under his foot with the goal gaping.
Napoli’s third goal came 10 minutes from time, central defender Leo Ostigard heading a corner from Raspadori past McGregor and offered a fair reflection of the chasm between the two sides. For Rangers – and Celtic – the Champions League has been a humbling business.
Leo Ostigard scored Napoli’s third late on as they continued their excellent form this season
