Gio van Bronckhorst admits Rangers 'didn't react' before game-changing incident as VAR removes penalty debate

Giovanni van Bronckhorst admitted VAR means he could have no complaints over decisions in his side’s Champions League defeat to Napoli but reckons a lapse from his Rangers side did cost them big time against the Italians.

James Sands was sent off for a second booking and while Allan McGregor pulled off a save from the resulting spot kick AND the retaken penalty after Napoli’s goal from the rebound was ruled out for encroachment they couldn’t hold out.

The Serie A leaders netted from their third effort from the spot after a Borna Barisic handball before scoring a couple of late strikes to add a bit of gloss to the scoreline. It’s now three defeats in a row for Gers with 11 goals conceded and none scored.

But Van Bronckhorst knows the performance against the Italians was very different to defeats against Celtic and Ajax. However, he believes they didn’t deal well enough with the attack that led to Sands bringing down Giovanni Simeone.

The Dutchman told BT Sport: “There was a moment in the game where we didn’t react well with the transition moment and we had to step in to make sure we didn’t give the chance away and in the end it cost us a penalty and a red card.

“The performance was really good. The result wasn’t good - I don’t think we deserved a 3-0 loss if you see how how the game went and how my players reacted after last week.

“We were well in the game from the first minute with some big chances and in the end I don’t think 3-0 reflected the game we had, although you know when you play with 10 men it’s going to be really difficult.

“We were 1-0 down and had to score so had to take some risks. I’m very disappointed because at eleven vs eleven we gave Napoli a tough game.

“We have VAR now so everything is checked.