Reuters
NOS Football•
After a lavish tribute to Queen Elizabeth II – with a minute’s silence, a huge British flag and the ‘God Save The King’ – Rangers FC supporters roared their squad forward against Napoli. But the Italians proved better and smarter and eventually won 3-0.
That means that Napoli is now first in group A of the Champions League, with Liverpool and Ajax behind them in second and third place.
NOS
The crowd at Ibrox propelled Rangers to a few opportunities in the club’s first Champions League minutes in front of their home crowd since 2010. The enfant terrible Alfredo Morelos, reinstated by trainer Giovanni van Bronckhorst after a disciplinary suspension, could have completed the madness by heading in a good cross from the right.
It was a stormy start for the home side. But all the roars and chants from the stands made it no worse for Napoli players like Stanislav Lobotka (dainty midfielder) and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (unpredictable striker).
As a result, an exciting first half unfolded, with chances back and forth. Piotr Zielinski had the greatest opportunity for Napoli, but his shot hit the post. Rangers was in any case not as powerless as last week against Ajax, then The Gers blamed themselves in Amsterdam with a 4-0 defeat.
Three penalties, one goal
In the second half, Ibrox was silent for a while, when defender James Sands caused a penalty and received a red card. It turned out to be the prelude to a most curious series of events.
Zielinski went behind the ball and missed, but saw teammate Matteo Politano score in the rebound. That goal was disallowed a minute later after VAR deliberations. It’s not clear whether that was because goalkeeper Allan McGregor crossed the line too early or because Politano caught up too quickly. The penalty kick had to be taken again anyway and again Zielinski missed.
Reuters
The frustration was enormous at Napoli, but less than five minutes after that double penalty-echec a third penalty followed. This time Politano was allowed to dock and he was accurate, although McGregor was still very close to his third save.
For the first time, Ibrox struck to death. When substitute Giacomo Raspadori scored the second Neapolitan goal, all Scottish hopes at one point were gone. Tanguy Ndombélé determined the final score at 3-0.
For example, Napoli as the leader of group A goes to Amsterdam, where the important meeting with Ajax awaits on 4 October.
