Once Again, Old Firm Goes Soft in UCL Qualifiers

These are dark days for the status of Scottish football in Europe.

Mainly because they're having a hell of a time getting into Europe.

That responsibility usually falls to the Old Firm, but as of now, they've gotta be wondering which is worse:

• Celtic being eliminated from the Champions League qualifying stage by a team whose name most of their players can't pronounce, or
• Rangers getting the boot after a Malmö FF dude named Innocent got the boot.

 

Maybe Scottish teams have become allergic to Scandinavia or something.

The Norwegian Vikings had their way with them back in the day, and now the Swedes and Danes are getting their licks.

Midtjylland FC has been a consistent winner in the Danish Super League that's knocked it around with the big brands before. So intimidation isn't a factor for them anymore, as Celtic has now discovered. They only managed a 1-1 draw in a rugged affair at Celtic Park where Ulvene -- the Wolves -- gave as good as they got.

 

With that point made, Midtjylland put paid to the challenge with a 2-1 victory sending them through on the aggregate and sending Celtic home with a huge dose of self-doubt.

The real bummer, though, was the Hoops drawing the aggregate even on a spiffy strike by Callum McGregor before realizing late in the second half -- twice -- that defense can be rather useful in matches such as these:

 

Rangers, meanwhile, have yet to prove they're completely back after their insolvency in 2012 doomed them to the lower divisions. Dudes climbed back to the Premiership soon enough -- three promotions in four seasons -- but have yet to mollify their 600 fan clubs in 35 countries by claiming its title.

Based on their performance against a southern Swedish side that's tormented them before -- Malmö knocked them outta this same competition back in 2011 -- Rangers looked more like the outfit that embarrassed itself back in 2017 against Progrès Niederkorn than a club that shoulda known better.

 

It's also just plain accurate.

One woulda thought getting boxed around to the tune of a 2-1 defeat in the funky province of Skåne mighta given them a clue, especially when Rangers' goal charitably came in the 95th minute.

But no.

This is not to say Di blåe -- the Blues -- aren't worthy foes, because they've got a relatively decent history in European competition. Dudes have logged 163 international matches since 1964, so they can be more than just pesky.

 

And that's without the guilty-but-he-was-framed Bonke Innocent, who's sending off apparently gave his teammates more room to maneuver, not to mention the motivation to right a wrong ... and given a non-call against Rangers' wayward 'keeper Allan McGregor, make that two wrongs.

With a full XI, Malmö surrendered the game's first goal, just as they did in the first leg. Being a man down in the second half just fired them up, as they rallied to a 1-2 victory and earned a trip to the next round:

 

Maybe Rangers nation is getting used to this.

What used to be biting commentary after episodes like this has become more restrained. The acid between the lines is still burning, though:

 

Yes, the UEFA coefficient.

Where the Old Firm stands right now, that factor has become esoteric. Dudes have many more immediate concerns to address before that comes into play again.