September 15, (THEWILL) – In the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, Napoli breezed past 10-man Rangers, after a dramatic set of penalty kicks to overcome Rangers’ goalkeeper, Allan McGregor and finish 3-0 as winners.
Following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, Rangers defied UEFA to go ahead with pre-game plans to sing God Save The King before the game.
If anything, it did not help their game even though the Scottish side was boosted by the intense atmosphere, and Alfredo Morelos scuffed a close-range header wide early on. At the opposite end, the drama began when Piotr Zielinski hit the post, before Scott Arfield forced an excellent save from Alex Meret in the Napoli goal.
Rangers did well in the first half, but their efforts were undone by a wild second half in which 40-year-old McGregor stamped his authority in between the sticks. After James Sands was sent off, McGregor saved a penalty and a retake of the same penalty in quick succession after the first was cancelled.
But, Borna Barisic was deemed to have handled the ball in the area, and McGregor was undone as Politano’s penalty squeaked under his hand and into the bottom-right corner. Giacomo Raspadori and Tanguy Ndombele joined to complete the scores and after a VAR review denied Rangers of their own penalty shout, Napoli ended the day atop Group A.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
