The 3-0 defeat by Napoli means Rangers have lost three games in a row, scoring no goals and conceding 11. And yet, there was a sense of some hope restored at Ibrox after Wednesday’s game.
Manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst said his side showed their quality, while defender Connor Goldson said the display was “much better” than recent 4-0 defeats by Ajax and Celtic.
The team came into the game against the Serie A leaders under fire, while the coach and summer recruitment were put under the microscope.
And, until James Sands was sent off early in the second-half, Rangers went toe-to-toe with Luciano Spalletti’s unbeaten side. So were there enough positives to take forward? Or do concerns remain?
Positive signs
Rangers’ first-half performance was much better than the recent showings, where they were 3-0 down at half-time to both Ajax and Celtic.
Early on at Ibrox, they went close through Alfredo Morelos and made life uncomfortable for Napoli, who were unbeaten in seven games this season, as they looked to build from the back.
Rangers’ expected goals rating (xG) was 0.84 for the 45 minutes, which was better than their visitors, while they also had more touches in the box and shots on target.
Napoli had chances too, but the spectacle was more akin to two evenly matched sides going head-to-head, until the sending off.
“If you see the comparison between Ajax and today, we played so match better,” Van Bronckhorst said. “We played with more intensity and character than last week. We learned from the speed of thinking and playing. We equalled that with 11 v 11.”
Another tough lesson
While there were encouraging signs, ultimately Rangers were punished for Sands’ sending off.
They were caught in transition and the centre-back was forced into a risky tackle to try to stop Giovanni Simeone, who was clean through on goal.
In the Champions League, those moments cost you. Despite Allan McGregor’s best efforts in saving Piotr Zielinski’s re-taken penalty, once Matteo Politano converted from the spot, Napoli took control.
“The first goal we conceded made me change the way we were playing,” Van Bronckhorst said. “Because we needed to attack. And you know you’re going to give more space. The 3-0 defeat did not reflect the difference in quality.”
The Rangers boss has proved he can learn from setbacks, both at Feyenoord in the Champions League when his team improved over the course of the group, and at Ibrox last season as they finished with a cup and a Europa League final place despite losing ground to Celtic in the league.
The question is whether enough improvement will come now to turn results quickly.
“After last week’s game in Amsterdam, there was a real ill feeling at the fact they’d been beaten so easily, without a fight,” former Rangers striker Steven Thompson said on Sportsound. “At 0-0 tonight, they could be proud of the performance.
“The referee has taken a lot of stick, but he got the big decisions right. When you’re down to 10 men, it makes the task doubly hard, and Napoli’s class shone through.”
What now?
Rangers are at home to Dundee United in the Premiership on Saturday, then after the international break face Hearts away and St Mirren at home in between the games against Liverpool in the group stage.
That run will tell us a lot about where Rangers are this season. It was notable that with the manager under some pressure, none of the summer signings made the starting side against Napoli.
Ridvan Yilmaz and Ben Davies are yet to make an impact, while Malik Tillman has struggled recently after a bright start. Antonio Colak does not offer the same qualities in build-up play and on the counter as Morelos despite a good goal return.
New signings can take time to adjust, and there will be plenty of other opportunities to make an impact this season. But given the outlay, the fact they are not deemed good enough to start such important Champions League matches raises questions about recent recruitment.
It remains to be seen whether that will haunt Rangers over the course of this season, or not. But early signs are the squad is not fully equipped for Europe’s elite competition.
