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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Aidan Smith

Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti hails 'incredible' Rangers atmosphere heat declaring it 'felt like being in a toaster'

Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti hails 'incredible' Rangers atmosphere heat declaring it 'felt like being in a toaster'

NAPOLI boss Luciano Spalletti has hailed Rangers fans for creating an incredible atmosphere during their Champions League group stage clash.

Ibrox was a sell-out of home fans, with no visiting supporters allowed inside the stadium due to a police shortage following the Queen's death.

Spalletti was taken aback by the noise the Rangers fans created and he described the heat of battle like "being in a toaster".

Speaking after the game, the Napoli manager said: “It was an emotional evening because we were in a historic stadium with an incredible fanbase and the roar at the start, because it was so tight, because it was so close to the pitch, felt like being in a toaster because of the heat of it.

“I saw a good team, Rangers played a very good match, the kind of match they had to play. They had a little bit of bad luck at the start with some forays into the box, we had a bit of luck in that the ball dropped in front of Alex Meret on a few occasions.

“We managed to unravel things because in terms of play, in terms of using the ball, in terms of keeping the ball moving, my team is a strong and so, as we expected, little by little we managed to turn the direction of the game.

“As far as the cards, the penalties… In my opinion the referee was perfect, and exceptional. A referee of enormous personality and when it comes to the decisions I think he was correct.”

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