Rangers’ Champions League clash at Ajax labelled ‘men against boys’ as ex-Chelsea target Edson Alvarez and ex-Everton target Mohammed Kudus put Scottish giants to the sword

Rangers' long-awaited return to the Champions League proper proved to be the stuff of nightmares as they were blown away by a flying Ajax side.

The Scottish giants went 3-0 down at half time with Edson Alvarez, who was linked with Chelsea in the summer, heading in the opener.

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A deflected Steven Berghuis effort doubled the advantage of the Dutch side before Mohammed Kudus, who was linked with Everton in the summer, cannoned in the third.

"This is men against boys," Matt Holland said on commentary for talkSPORT 2.

"They've been as poor as they could be… they look really lethargic, they look off it."

Rangers improved after the break and thought they restored some pride when Borna Barisic curled the ball into the top right-hand corner.

However, the defender's effort was ruled out due to Ryan Kent being offside earlier in the move.

Former Tottenham forward Steven Bergwijn added Ajax's fourth late on as Rangers followed up their defeat at rivals Celtic last weekend with a defeat by the same scoreline.

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"This is a carbon copy of the match at the weekend," Holland added.

Gers and Ajax are in Group A alongside Liverpool and Napoli but the Reds had a similarly horrific night as they succumbed to a 4-1 defeat against the Serie A side.