The morning after the night before will offer little comfort to reeling Rangers supporters.
Their crushing 4-0 defeat to Ajax served up a brutal dose of reality for Gio van Bronckhorst 's side who were outgunned and outworked by the classy Eredivisie champions. Rangers retained a confidence heading into the reunion with former star turn Calvin Bassey, their sustained success on the Continent meant there was hope among the fanbase, despite their dreary 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Celtic on Saturday. But their 12-year wait for a return to the Champions League did not go to plan.
They proved a pale imitation of the side who created memories of a lifetime during a thrilling run to the Europa League final. The scoreline was emphatic in favour of Ajax, of course, but the chain of events which sparked the sorry defeat were even more galling. Rangers were unable to compete and spirits were low long before Van Bronckhorst's grim admission that his team were "hundreds of millions" away from holding court at European football's top table.
