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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Mark Pirie

Juan Jesus shows no Rangers fear as Napoli star shrugs off Ibrox cauldron to plot Champions League knockouts path

Defender Juan Jesus insists Napoli won't be happy settling for a draw against Rangers as he insists the Serie A side are planning to throw down the gauntlet to their group rivals at Ibrox.

The Italian side are scheduled to arrive in Govan for a Champions League group stage showdown with Rangers on Tuesday, with Lucianno Spalletti's side looking to continue their impressive start to the season. Napoli were relentless in their 4-1 win over last season's finalists Liverpool to open their Group A campaign, and moved top of Serie A on Saturday with a last-gasp win over Spezia as they continued their unbeaten run this term.

Rangers have stuttered in their last two outings, with back-to-back 4-0 defeats to Celtic and Ajax ruining the early season momentum boss Gio van Bronckhorst had been building. However, some of The Light Blues' best performances have been saved for the European stage with the Ibrox crowd proving a key factor in some massive results in Glasgow.

But Jesus played down any potential intimidation from the home fans when they arrive for matchday two of the group stage. He reckons Napoli must take advantage of Ajax's trip to Anfield to push for the knockout stage.

Speaking after the 1-0 win over Spezia, he said: "In the Champions League you can't go for a draw. You always have to have a match.

"We have to win because there is a direct clash between Ajax and Liverpool, and Liverpool will want to take full points. The further you go, the more points you need. Winning in Scotland it would bring us closer to qualification."

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