Van Bronckhorst feels red card was difference between Rangers and Napoli
The Ibrox side went down to ten men and lost 3-0 to their Italian opponents
Last updated 14th Sep 2022
Giovanni van Bronckhorst believes James Sands' red card proved pivotal in their 3-0 Champions League defeat by Napoli at Ibrox.
The Gers defender was sent off for conceding a penalty in the second half for a foul on Giovanni Simeone, after being booked minutes earlier.
Returning goalkeeper Allan McGregor brilliantly saved Piotr Zielinski's first penalty, from which Matteo Politano scored the rebound, and his second attempt after a lengthy VAR check decided the spot-kick had to be retaken for encroachment.
However, another Napoli penalty arrived when Rangers left-back Borna Barisic handled in the box and this time Politano found the bottom corner.
Giacomo Raspadori added a second with five minutes remaining and fellow substitute Tanguy Ndombele grabbed a third in added time to leave Rangers with no points from their first two Group A games.
Van Bronckhorst said: "Until the red card we gave Napoli a really tough game.
"We were organised, good in the game and players were giving everything to get a good result.
"We created chances to open the scoring and it was a nice battle to see, but of course with the sending off we knew it was going to be difficult.
"Allan saved the penalty twice which was fantastic but the first goal we conceded made me change the way we were playing because we need to attack and you know you are going to get more space, so in the end I think the 3-0 defeat did not reflect the difference in quality."
Defender Connor Goldson also believes the sending off was "100 per cent" the turning point in the game as he looked towards the cinch Premiership game against Dundee United in Saturday.
He told BT Sport: "It's hard. The spaces started opening up.
"Even at 1-0 we tried to give it a go and we had attacking players on the pitch.
"But there was even more spaces and we gave another two goals away.
"Listen it's hard, it's tough to take. We're in a tricky patch at the moment but we need to give that same effort and same belief on Saturday.
"Hopefully that will give us a win and get us back on track."
Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti said: "After two missed penalties it was important that we kept going.
"They started really strong with their fans as we expected but instead of shrinking we reacted I felt.
"I thought it was a balanced game at a lot of points but we didn't change, we never stopped pressing them and I want to thank everybody. It was another good game for me to be on the bench."
Rangers Managers
William Wilton
William Wilton was Rangers' first manager who served the club in this post for over 20 years from 1899 to 1920. In his time at Rangers he brought home eight league titles and one Scottish Cup before passing away while still in his position as manager on the 2nd May 1920.
Bill Struth
The most decorated and longest-serving Rangers manager to-date Bill Struth, managed Rangers from 1920 all the way up to 1954. He won 18 League titles and 10 Scottish Cups as well as 2 League Cups and seven wartime League Championships.
Scot Symon
Scot Symon managed Rangers from 1954 to 1967 and guided the team to six League titles, five Scottish Cups and 4 League Cups. He was also the first Rangers manager to have previously played for the club and helped the club win a League title in 1939.
David White
Having previously played for Clyde, David White became manager of Rangers in November of 1967 and was the first Rangers manager not to win any major honours while in charge. He then became one of the three managers dismissed by the club in 1969.
William Waddell
Ex-Rangers player William Waddell took the helm at the end of 1969 and led the side to a League Cup win and to their only continental trophy victory in the 1972 European Cup Winners' Cup Final 3-2 against Dynamo Moscow.
Jock Wallace
Jock Wallace managed Rangers from 1972 – 1978 and then again from 1983 – 1986, where he won the Treble of winning the League title, Scottish Cup and League Cup in the seasons 1975-76 and 1977-78.
John Greig MBE
John Greig MBE spent his entire professional career with Rangers, from starting off on the pitch as a Defender to becoming Manager in 1978. During his five-year managerial stint, he won the Scottish Cup and League Cup twice. He was also voted 'The Greatest Ever Ranger' in 1999 by the club's supporters.
Graeme Souness
Graeme Souness became a player-manager at Rangers with Walter Smith assisting him at the helm. Within his five years in charge, from 1986- 1991, aside from winning 3 league titles and 4 league cups, he broke down barriers by signing Mo Johnston, the first Roman-Catholic addition to the Rangers team.
Walter Smith OBE
From 1991 – 1998, Walter Smith OBE stepped away from his previous Assistant Manager role and led Rangers to achieve League titles, three Scottish Cups and three League Cups. He then came back to manage Rangers from 2007- 2011, winning eight more major prizes for the club.
Dick Advocaat
Dick Advocaat managed Rangers from 1998 – 2001 and won two League titles, two Scottish Cups and a League Cup. Notably, in his first season at Rangers, he led the team to finish six points above Celtic, who they defeated 1-0 in the Scottish Cup final.
Alex Mcleish
Notably winning the domestic Treble in his second season, Alex McLeish in total achieved two League titles, two Scottish Cups and three League Cups. He was the Manager of Rangers when they clinched the Scottish Premiere on goal difference.
Paul Le Guen
French player and manager Paul Le Guen took over from McLeish in 2006 before leaving in mid-2007 without winning any prizes for the club. At the time, this made him Rangers' shortest serving manager.
Ally McCoist MBE
In May 2011, Ex-player Ally McCoist took to the helm of Rangers and saw them through entering administration in 2012. He described the position as a 'dream job at a nightmare time' and left the position in December 2014.
Mark Warburton
From June 2015 – February 2017, Mark Warburton managed Rangers where he notably came out on top of an Old Firm victory in the Scottish Cup Final where the team won 5-4 on penalties after a 2-2 game.
Pedro Caixinha
Pedro Caixinha managed Rangers from March 2017- October that same year. He failed to obtain any prizes before he was dismissed by the club.
Graeme Murty
Graeme Murty was the caretaker manager for Rangers from February – March 2017 before being appointed as the official manager in October that same year. He was in the role until May 2018.
Steven Gerrard
From June 2018 – November 2021, ex-Liverpool player Steven Gerrard managed Rangers gaining the team their first League title since 2011. He then stepped down to manage Aston Villa.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Former player Giovanni van Bronckhorst returned to Ibrox to take over from Steven Gerrard in November 2021. The Dutchman led the Ibrox side to the Europa League final and won the Scottish Cup in his first season in charge. He left late in 2022 after a poor string of results and performances.