Rangers land glamour Champions League group with Ajax, Liverpool and Napoli

Rangers have been handed a tough but exciting Champions League task after being paired with some huge names in the group stage draw.

The Ibrox side have been drawn to face Eredivise champions Ajax, English Premier League giants Liverpool and Serie A powerhouse Napoli.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his players came through two rounds of qualifying to reach the elite stage of the competition and were guaranteed top level opposition in addition tothe huge financial rewards.

They’ve now set up a series of mouth-watering games, with a ‘Battle of Britain’ against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool the headline pairing.

Liverpool finished second in the Premier League last season, running Manchester City close, and were beaten by Real Madrid in the Champions League final.

They aim to go one better this time around and will want to have a strong group stage as the foundation for their trophy push.

Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Scotland captain Andy Robertson are among the stars that are likely to face Rangers at Anfield and Ibrox.

Top seeds Ajax are renowned for their exciting young talent and though the club is in transition after manager Erik Ten Haag joined Manchester United (and targeted Ajax players as signings) they still boast some formidable players and have started the season strongly.

Their new recruit will find the atmosphere at Ibrox familiar, with Calvin Bassey having left Rangers for Amsterdam in the summer in a multi-million pound deal.

Napoli were among the toughest of the third seeds that Rangers could have drawn. Luciano Spalletti’s side were only seven points behind league winners AC Milan last year.

A noisy reception is guaranteed from the 54,000 inside Stadio Diego Armando Maradona and the team that has scored nine goals in their first two league fixtures looks loaded with attacking intent.

Dates and times for the group fixtures have still to be announced but are expected to be confirmed by UEFA late on Thursday.