Rangers given harsh lesson in Champions League cruelty

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Rangers given harsh lesson in Champions League cruelty
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - SEPTEMBER 14: Match Referee, Antonio Mateu Lahoz speaks with Allan McGregor of Rangers after he orders a retake on the SSC Napoli penalty kick during the UEFA Champions League group A match between Rangers FC and SSC Napoli at Ibrox Stadium on September 14, 2022 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Rangers tonight were given a harsh lesson in the true reality of the step up in quality of the Champions League.

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While the home side put in an infinitely gutsier performance than recent debacles, Gio’s men fell well short on pure quality and finishing, failing to really test Meret or truly threaten his goal, and the blunt truth of how much of a hike over the Europa League the UCL was told damningly.

Fans will point to the penalties, fans will (and are) whining at the ref – but not a single decision, within the letter of the law, was wrong, and Rangers were deservedly beaten, even if the scoreline seems harsh.

Napoli put four past Liverpool, they are a world class team, and all we ever asked from this Rangers side is it shows a bit of gusto and gumption.

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Tonight it did – it worked hard, it tried, it covered the same grass Napoli did and did not let our fans down.

But the quality was well short, never highlighted more than a fresh air swipe from Morelos with a borderline open goal while Napoli were clinically putting three past the heroic McGregor.

The side functioned better, much better than recent performances, but the shortfall in talent in this squad told and the spike in opponent quality and competition quality means Rangers ultimately have two matches, no goals, and seven goals shipped.

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And we’ve probably just had the two ‘easiest’ matches.

Make no mistake, this is a group of death, and Rangers will struggle even to score in it.

But the heart was there. Mostly.

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2 COMMENTS

  1. The last 3 games 11 against zero for ,miles away from good enough for Glasgow rangers .I am sorry to say it ,we no longer belong in this company ,time to concentrate on the league for me ,if we lose out on that , along with the fact NONE of our new signings played tonight (WTAF) it will be time for gio to go ,I suspect the job is just too big for him now and his signings are shocking .

  2. I was encouraged by the slightly better attitude and comittment but Napoili are a different level quicker more technical the interchange play was superb. We are not good enough for this level , neither are the rotten mob to be honest . The league is all that’s important yes we get some good money for Europe but its not our priority.

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