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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Mark Pirie

World media reacts as Rangers 'hurricane' turned to 'summer breeze' by Ajax and 'inoffensive' flops become worst ever

The end of the Champions League campaign is the only consolation for Rangers supporters after they slumped their way to an unwanted piece of European history.

Ajax compounded a miserable return to the group stage with a 3-1 victory at Ibrox as goals from Steven Berghuis, Mohammed Kudus and late sub Francisco Conceicao provided the final blows in a total of 22 conceded over six consecutive defeats with just two scored throughout the campaign. It means Gio van Bronckhorst has led the Light Blues to statistically the worst ever group stage tally, surpassing Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb's dismal record that has stood for 11 years.

Rangers have struggled to recapture the magic that saw them create memories of a lifetime for fans during a thrilling run to the Europa League final, and punters will be keen to put this season's Euro exploits out of mind as soon as possible. Media across the globe picked up on the result, with relief from Croatia while other outlets simply piled on the misery.

Record Sport looks at how the world media viewed Rangers' nightmare and the events which unfolded in their Champions League Group A finale.

Index (Croatia)

Dinamo – the Croatian champions in the 2011/2012 season – lost all games in the group with Real, Lyon and Ajax with a goal difference of -19. Because of this, Dinamo was the worst team in one season of the Champions League for 11 years. That infamous record was thankfully broken on Tuesday night by the Scottish Rangers.

AD (Netherlands)

Ajax has left the Champions League with a 3-1 win against the poor Rangers FC. It soon became clear that Ajax would not let itself be cheated of the Europa League ticket. It was hit in the first attack. The visit to the atmospheric Ibrox turned out to be ideal to boost their confidence.

HLN (Belgium)

This shows how it can all go wrong. Last season, Rangers were the losing finalist of the Europa League - against Frankfurt but just on penalties. Now the troops of the Dutch trainer Van Bronckhorst have been eliminated in Europe with a very bad report. In a group with Napoli, Liverpool and Ajax, Rangers did not collect a single point, scored only two goals and conceded no less than 22. The 7-1 defeat against Liverpool on match day 4 was an absolute low point.

NU (Netherlands)

Ajax closes the Champions League season with a 1-3 win over Rangers FC. Thanks to goals from Steven Berghuis and Mohammed Kudus, Ajax is 0-2 before halftime. In the final phase it gets just as exciting when James Tavernier scores the 1-2, but two minutes later Francisco Conceição determines the final score. The victory means that Ajax is definitively certain of third place in group A and a place in the knockout phase of the Europa League.

24 Sata (Croatia)

Finally, there are worse ones. Rangers broke Dinamo's negative record. The Scots managed to lose all the games against Napoli, Liverpool and Ajax, scoring two goals and conceding 22. In the last game, Ajax won 3-1 at Ibrox, so Dinamo is no longer the record holder of the Champions League.

L'Equipe (France)

It's a logical victory for the Dutch in Glasgow. Facing inoffensive Rangers, Ajax dominated the entire game, taking an early lead before controlling the pace. Amsterdam is in the Europa League, Rangers ends with a zero points for the first time in Champions League.

VP (Netherlands)

Liverpool and Napoli in particular taught Ajax a few hard-hitting Champions League lessons, but there is little to criticise at the start and the end of the European campaign. In two games, Rangers FC conceded seven Amsterdam goals. Steven Berghuis and Mohammed Kudus excelled, turning the usual hurricane on Ibrox into nothing more than a summer breeze. More sound came from the atmospheric away section.

(SNS Group)

Last season's losing Europa League finalist has been moved up to a higher European level time and again. Fact of the evening: Rangers FC is the worst Champions League side of all time. Zero points and goal difference of -20, and Giovanni van Bronckhorst now licks his wounds.

The Guardian (London)

Rangers, who needed to win by five goals to move above Ajax and take the Europa League berth, were jeered off at half-time. They conceded 22 goals in their six group games for a goal difference of minus 20, which beats the previous worst group return by Dinamo Zagreb in the 2011-12 campaign when they lost all six games and finished with a goal difference of minus 19.

Marca (Spain)

A miracle was needed for Rangers (to reach the Europa League) that nobody really believed in Ibrox and Ajax, with spaces, generated much more danger than the locals. Ajax gets a place in the Europa League and Rangers say goodbye to the Champions League without scoring a point.

beIN Sports (Qatar)

Rangers set an unwanted record by becoming the first Scottish side to lose all six of their Champions League group stage matches after falling to a 3-1 defeat to Ajax. It leaves Rangers having conceded 22 goals in their six group games, scoring only twice.

That is only the second time a Scottish side has shipped more than 20 goals in a single campaign in Europe's elite club competition, with Van Bronckhorst's team joining the 1959-1960 Rangers side in that regard.

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