'Drunken Scots', 'take your rubbish with you' - How Rangers' 4-0 defeat to Ajax was reported by Dutch press

Rangers desperate performance in their Champions League group stage opener against Ajax has been heavily criticised by the Dutch press.

Just two weeks after claiming a famous 1-0 over PSV Eindhoven to qualify for the group stages for the first time in 12 years, the Ibrox side were subjected to an Amsterdam annihilation on their return to the Netherlands.

Conceding three before half-time, and another after the break, Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side lost four goals in successive matches for the first time since 1982 following a similar rout at Celtic Park on Saturday.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In their match report De Volkskrant compared Rangers performance to the standard of the side currently sitting 12th in the Eredivisie.

"The team of Giovanni van Bronckhorst looked Scottish and skewed as the ball kept making a detour past legs that had no chance of being extended," they wrote. "There was just too much happening for Rangers, too fast, in too small a space.

"PSV was anxious. Ajax pretended there was no opponent at all, as if Rangers were just a team from the Eredivisie. A kind of FC Groningen, but dressed in blue. "

De Telegraaf branded Rangers "drunken Scots", as they wrote: "After a short scanning phase, the team from Amsterdam set off in the atmospheric Johan Cruijff ArenA.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"The opening goal of Edson Alvarez, who headed in after seventeen minutes from a corner from Steven Berghuis, was the signal for a gala performance.

Rangers duo Leon King and Steven Davis applaud their supporters after their 4-0 defeat to Ajax in Amsterdam. (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)Rangers duo Leon King and Steven Davis applaud their supporters after their 4-0 defeat to Ajax in Amsterdam. (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)
Rangers duo Leon King and Steven Davis applaud their supporters after their 4-0 defeat to Ajax in Amsterdam. (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)

"In it, the drunken Scots were lucky that it was 'only' 3-0 at half time."

Meanwhile, Algemeen Dagblad commented on the fact that Ajax fans aimed a chant directly at Rangers boss and fellow countryman Van Bronckhorst.

"'Gio, take your rubbish with you', the supporters of Ajax sang in the final phase of the one-sided duel," they wrote.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Rangers defending was also criticised with the first goal attributed to an error by James Sands.

"The corner from which Álvarez (released entirely by James Sands) scored was introduced by Kudus. An agile, false striker, the Ghanaian took the static central duo of the Scottish Europa League finalist, who had clearly not recovered from the ear washing by arch-rival Celtic (4-0), from his comfort zone. Or not, because Sands and Connor Goldson remained standing, allowing the wandering Kudus to create surplus situations and solutions for Ajax everywhere."

Comments

 0 comments

Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.