It’s a measure of where Rangers are right now that just avoiding a proper hammering is seen as a positive. And there was probably an element of relief at escaping Naples with a 3-0 defeat given the fears pre-match and the scoreboard after quarter of an hour.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his players must have thought they were going to experience another Champions League horror show when Giovanni Simeone netted a quickfire double to put the Serie A leaders a couple of goals up in the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
But luckily for the Light Blues the Italians, who didn’t even start their big guns, didn’t seem in the mood to go for the jugular and that must be a sense of relief for Rangers, despite Leo Ostigard heading in a late third. However, by that time Rangers had at least put up a bit of a fight in their penultimate Group A clash and had chances to get back into the game with Alfredo Morelos missing a hat-trick of chances - one in particular a sitter. In the end, it was another defeat but not the mauling some had predicted and in the Ibrox side’s current state that is something to cling on to.
Van Bronckhorst vowed not to park the bus in Naples and it was certainly an attacking line-up with Malik Tillman, Ryan Kent and Scott Wright all starting with Ridvan Yilmaz handed his first Champions League start at the back and James Sands deployed in midfield.
Luciano Spalletti opted to rest some of his key men in a game they were expected to win comfortably against the section’s whipping boys after already blasting a staggering 17 goals. That soon became 18 as Gers got off the start they dreaded after conceding after just 10 minutes.
Skipper Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s ball from the left picked out Simeone who beat Ben Davies, who had already been booked earlier, to lash the ball across a helpless Allan McGregor and into the net. It went from bad to worse as the Italians doubled their lead five minutes later. Simeone was the scorer again with Mario Rui the provider this time as he crossed for the Argentinian to head home, again getting in front of Davies.
The nightmare the visitors feared was on the cards as they were under siege and only the crossbar saved Gers conceding a third as Tottenham Hotspur loan man Tanguy Ndombele, who scored at Ibrox, rattled the woodwork.
Rangers, in their all orange kit, struggled to get out of their own half but Malik Tillman did thread a neat ball through for Alfredo Morelos but the Colombian was outmuscled as he tried to get his shot away. But it was only a brief period of respite as Giacomo Raspadori had a couple of efforts before Morelos had a glorious chance right on half time.
The Light Blues pounced on rare slack play from Napoli to break and Morelos raced away but he his shot lacked any real conviction and Ostigard got a crucial block which allowed Alex Meret to make the save.
Fashion Sakala replaced Wright at the interval but Simeone looked in the mood early on. He lofted a ball over the bar, albeit the flag was up for offside, before McGregor made a smart save with his foot to deny the striker.
The tempo dropped in Napoli's play and Gers got some joy with Morelos seeing a close range effort from a corner deflected over by Rui. What the visitors didn't want to do was give the home side any encouragement but James Tavernier gifted possession to Raspadori in a dangerous area but luckily he didn't punish them.
And then the huge chance Rangers wanted. Yilmaz fizzed a ball across goal but Morelos fluffed his lines with the Colombian missing an absolute sitter to get his side back into the game and that was his last act with Antonio Colak replacing him.
McGregor denied Rui with 10 minutes left but from the resulting corner Ostigard powered a brilliant header into the net and Simeone flashed a shot wide at the death as he missed another hat-trick chance.
Here's five talking points from the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium:
Gio to fight another day
This was a game that had the potential to finish Giovanni van Bronckhorst. It would have been hard to see him recover from a really heavy defeat and, on paper, that was entirely possible given it was the most difficult of all their six games against a side scoring goals for fun domestically and in Europe. And after 16 minutes it looked ominous. But Napoli didn’t go for the jugular and Gers regained their composure to create a couple of chances of their own and should have found the net through Alfredo Morelos in particular after he missed a sitter. The scoreline in isolation wasn’t a disgrace and it probably will buy him time but he MUST sort things out domestically. Quickly!
Gers must avoid 'worst ever' tag
Rangers vice chairman John Bennett said in a recent interview that the club tries to adopt a “best in class” approach in everything they do but the Ibrox side could still be the WORST ever when it comes to the Champions League. Dinamo Zagreb currently hold that unwanted record when it comes to the group stage of the Champions League for sides who suffered six straight defeats. The Croats had a goal difference of -19 so a 1-0 defeat against Ajax in their final game would see them equal that. Or, if you are a glass half full man then how do you fancy the 5-0 win against the Dutch that would see Rangers finish third.
Another Argentinian hero for Neapolitans
The spectre of Diego Maradona looms large in Naples and he will always be the city’s No. 1 Argentinian after his achievements at the club, dragging them to their only Serie A titles and UEFA Cup success. Murals dedicated to the late legend adorn the walls of the city decades after his spell at the club who named their stadium after him. Every Argentinian footballer is inspired by Maradona and Rangers suffered at the hands of one, desperate to follow in his footsteps at Napoli as Giovanni Simeone netted that quickfire double. Capped five times, he is currently on loan from Verona and took his opening two goals brilliantly.
Nifty Napoli
The Italians are such a fearsome force this season and there is no doubt they could go all the way in the competition. Luciano Spalletti opted to rest the quartet of boy wonder Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Piotr Zielinski, Victor Osimhen and Frank Zambo Anguissa who played such a big part at Ibrox. They haven’t won Serie A or a European trophy since the heady days of Diego Maradona, who still looms large over this gritty city, but surely this could be their year as they became the first Italian side since Juventus 17 years ago to win their opening five Champions League games.
See Naples… unless you’re a Gers fan
See Naples and die, as the saying goes. But not if you were a Rangers fan with the supporters banned in a reciprocal arrangement after Napoli fans were unable to travel to the first game at Ibrox due to a stretch on Scottish police resources at the time of The Queen’s passing. Gers fans were warned to stay away with Napoli’s fanatical supporters having a reputation for making it hostile for visiting supporters. It meant they missed out on the chance to sample the city and a magnificent stadium and it was a real blow to miss out on such an experience regardless of the result.
