Rangers player ratings: Gers swept aside by rampant Napoli on another bruising Champions League night

Rangers suffered a fifth consecutive defeat at the hands of Champions League top scorers Napoli to leave them licking their wounds and unable to continue their European journey any further.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side remain pointless in Group A after crashing to a dismal 3-0 loss to the Serie A leaders at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona - and in the process set a new club record of 12 successive wins in a row, previously held in 1986.

Giovanni Simeone’s quickfire brace in the opening 16 minutes and Leo Ostigard’s powerful header in the second half did the damage, allowing the Italians to take their foot off the gas.

Napoli have now scored a sensational 20 goals in their five matches so far and face Liverpool in their final group match at Anfield, while rock-bottom Rangers take on Ajax next Tuesday aiming to pick up their first win in the competition.

There remains some faint arithmetic hope of prolonging their campaign beyond Christmas but it would take a monumental effort to overhaul the Dutch outfit for third place.

The hosts dominance was evident after just seven minutes in Naples when Giovanni Di Lorenzo found team-mate Simeone in behind Ben Davies, and the Argentina striker fired the ball home with ease.

Their perfect start continued moments later when Simeone notched his second after sneaking in front of Davies to bullet home Mario Rui’s excellent delivery from the left.

Alfredo Morelos passed up a glorious opportunity to reduce the deficit in the second half when he failed to connect with Ridvan Yilmaz’s drilled low cross before the unmarked Ostigard put the game beyond doubt with a stunning header from a corner.

Rangers now must beat Ajax by FIVE goals to qualify for the Europa League knockout stages but that seems highly unlikely after escaping from Campania without any significant damage to their fragile confidence.

Here are GlasgowWorld’s player ratings...

ALLAN McGREGOR - 6 - Could do nothing to stop both of Simeone’s early goals. Got down smartly to save Raspadori’s header at his near post and did well to push Mario Rui’s powerful effort round the post in the second half. Positioning at third goal questionable.

JAMES TAVERNIER - 5 - Passing was slack from the outset but didn’t make any notable individual mistakes. Failed to cut out the cross for Napoli’s second goal. Caught out of position on several occasions but a few dangerous set-piece deliveries late on.

LEON KING - 5 - A tough night for the youngster who looked a bit out of his depth and received little support from his central defensive partner. Asking a lot of the teenager to perform consistently at this level. Hobbled off midway through the second half.

BEN DAVIES - 3 - Very poor display from the Englishman. Switched off as he lost his marker in lead up to Simeone’s opener and minutes later was caught under the ball at the second goal.

RIDVAN YILMAZ - 6 - Making his Champions League debut, the Turkish international offered plenty in terms of an attacking threat, but was aught out of position twice in the opening five minutes. Brilliant low ball across for Morelos, who somehow allowed the ball to run under his foot.

JAMES SANDS - 4 - Struggled with the pace of the game in the first-half and his range of passing wasn’t accurate at times. Did little to boost his starting of nailing down a starting spot.

JOHN LUNDSTRAM - 4 - Offered next to nothing. Picked up a needless foul after pulling Ndombele’s jersey, which rules him out of final Champions League match againt Ajax. Lost his man for Napoli’s third goal, allowing Ostigard an unchallenged free header.

MALIK TILLMAN - 4 - Looked a bit lost at times and didn’t get to showcase his creativity. Spent a lot of time chasing shadows and his overall workrate needs huge improvement. Hooked just after the hour mark.

SCOTT WRIGHT - 4 - Totally ineffective during the opening 45 minutes. Passed up a good chance to hit the target from a promising position. Replaced at half-time.

RYAN KENT - 5 - Rarely threatened the Napoli defence but worked extremely hard. End product let him down again and fans will be growing increasingly frustrated with him.

ALFREDO MORELOS - 4 - Will wonder how he didn’t get on the scoresheet. Took too long to pull the trigger with a weak attempt towards the end of the first half. Unable to capitalise from close range after Yilmaz laid the ball on a plate for him after the break. Replaced immediately after missing that sitter.

Substitutes:

FASHION SAKALA - 4 - Replaced Wright at half-time. A few positive moments but struggled to influence the game in the closing stages.

ANTONIO COLAK - 3 - On for Morelos after 66 minutes and should’ve doone better with a late header which flew wide of the target.

SCOTT ARFIELD - 1 - Brought on for Tillman but fairly annonymous in the latter stages.

BORNA BARISIC - 2 - Replaced King on 76 minutes as part of a defensive reshuffle but couldn’t make any real impact.

Not Used:

Jon McLaughlin (GK), Robby McCrorie (GK), Steven Davis, Adam Devine, Connor Allan, Alex Lowry, Rabbi Matondo

S.S.C. Napoli:

Alex Meret 7, Giovanni Di Lorenzo 8 (Alessandro Zanoli 2), Leo Ostigard 7, Kim Min-Jae 7, Mario Rui 8, Tanguy Ndombele 7, Stanislav Lobotka 8 (Piotr Zielinski 4), Eljif Elmas 8 (Gianluca Gaetano 3), Matteo Politano 7 (Hirving Lozano 3), Giovanni Simeone 9, Giacomo Raspadori 7 (Alessio Zerbin 3)

Valerio Boffelli (GK), Hubert Idasiak (GK), Juan Jesus, Mathias Olivera, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Victor Osimhen