There's a world of difference between a savage beating and an unspeakably cruel one. Unfortunately for Rangers, they’ve now experienced it all inside a fortnight.
After the spineless capitulations that brought their manager to a point of crisis, last night they produced a performance of heroic proportions – only to end up bloodied and bruised all over again. Where they had been pitiful against Celtic and Ajax, here they were at their most powerful.
Where they had lacked stomach for the fight, this time they were ravenous. And even when reduced to 10 men against the giants of Napoli, they mustered up something bordering on the astonishing as returning keeper Allan McGregor stopped two penalties before finally being beaten by a third in quick succession. Two late goals rubbed salt into the wounds, adding to the stinging sense of injustice. Of course, it won’t matter much in terms of this group campaign. With no points from a possible six, Rangers are already in need of snookers.
But in the greater scheme of things this was a night of redemption, nonetheless, for a team and their manager. Given his own credibility was on the line after two 4-0 defeats, Giovanni van Bronckhorst ’s team selection was the subject of considerable intrigue.
That not one of his summer signings made the cut for a match of such significance represented another damning indictment of the club’s scattergun recruitment policy. As, for that matter, did two midfield men in John Lundstram and James Sands having to be deployed on either side of Connor Goldson in a three-man defence with an affliction to dealing with cross balls.
While the manager was reverting to tried and tested at this moment of maximum peril, he was also taking an undoubted punt by pitching Alfredo Morelos in from the start at the expense of Antonio Colak. It did feel – even before a ball was kicked – that everything was going on the line against these formidable Serie A pacesetters, that an instinctively cautious boss was effectively throwing all his chips down on the table.
Not necessarily win or bust... but not far off it. And after a powerful, emotionally charged tribute to the Queen, his players responded by racing out of the traps like a group of men who knew exactly what was at stake.
Within 30 seconds James Tavernier had fizzed in a cross from the right, inviting Morelos to make the perfect reintroduction. The timing of the Colombian’s jump was a fraction out and his header flew wide of the target. Already, though, this was a transformed Rangers, full of fiery purpose and ferocious intensity, snapping into tackles and pressing with a demonic energy.
And they just kept on coming despite the obvious dangers all around them, as highlighted moments later when McGregor’s right-hand post was rattled by Piotr Zielinski’s drive.
With Ryan Kent leading the charge down the left, chances came in a flurry. First Tavernier’s left-foot shot was blocked inside the six-yard box, then Scott Arfield let rip from distance to force Alex Meret into a spectacular one-handed save. When the Italians did get through, McGregor pulled off a trademark save to smother Giovanni Simeone’s shot at his near post.
Still the action rattled along. Morelos went into Antonio Mateu Lahoz’s book when he bundled into Meret on the goalline after the keeper had clawed out another back-post effort from Tavernier.
Five minutes later, Morelos forced the Italian into a further save when the striker turned on to Kent’s clever pass and fired for goal from 20 yards. This was compelling stuff, all against the backdrop of dogged defending as Napoli came forward in numbers more and more towards half-time.
But Rangers coped admirably with what the Italians could throw at them as then, seconds after the restart, another big chance came and went when Kent and Ryan Jack combined down the left to carve Napoli open. This time Tavernier’s touch at the back post set up Arfield on the swivel but his shot was sliced wide from eight yards. Another deep cross from the left followed, with Goldson heading agonisingly across the face of goal.
Then came the moment that took this match from the sublime to the utterly ridiculous. Sands, having gone into the book seconds earlier, was adjudged to have tripped Simeone inside the box as he rushed back to cover the Argentine’s run and was shown a second yellow with the half just 10 minutes old.
That was harsh enough. What came next was beyond belief. First McGregor hurled himself to his right to heroically stop Zielinski’s spot-kick, only for Matteo Politano to squeeze home on the rebound.
But when VAR spotted the Italian scorer’s encroachment into the box, astonishingly the ref ordered a retake. Zielinski stepped up again. And again McGregor flew to his right to make a stunning stop. As the enormity of what had happened was still sinking in, Lahoz pointed to the spot for a third time when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s shot smashed into Borna Barisic’s arm from point-blank range.
This time Politano squeezed it home at McGregor’s left-hand post, even though the 40-year-old got his fingers on it. A little over five minutes from time, insult was added to injury as sub Giacomo Raspadori burrowed through the heart of McGregor’s defence to slot home No.2.
Then, come injury time, fellow sub Tanguy Ndombele rattled home to add a hint of humiliation to the scoreline. But at least this time Rangers salvaged some pride from the pain.
