Malmo boss fumes after Rangers Europa League humbling amid 'stupid' claim

Malmo head coach Henrik Rydström was unable to hide his frustration following last night’s defeat to Rangers in the Europa League as his pre-match comments came back to haunt him.

Goals from Nedim Bajrami and Ross McCausland handed the travelling Gers a comfortable 2-0 victory in Sweden, with Philippe Clement’s side dominant throughout against their lacklustre opponents and unlucky not to win by more.

The result gave Rangers supporters extra satisfaction after their hosts had goaded them via social media prior to the game, claiming they had “missed them” after their victory at Ibrox in 2022, and they even aimed a cheeky dig about Rangers financial woes in 2012. Pre-game, Rydström added fuel to the fire by insisting there was no harm intended and that Malmo were simply predicting “what will probably happen again".

"You can ask 'are you as a head coach stupid?' Yes. I'm obviously stupid,” fumed Rydström after the game, as he was asked about his comments before the clash, claiming "s*** happens.

Clearly angered by his team’s performance, the 48-year-old then launched into an angry tirade as he lamented Gabriel Busanello's short back pass that led to Nedim Bajrami's goal in the first minute of the game. “It's symptomatic, but we're playing backwards. I have tried to get my players to understand that we do not play the ball backwards to our goalkeeper. Our goalkeepers are not our playmakers. Instead of taking the responsibility to play forward, we had lateral passes and passes towards home that I don't really understand."

In the opposite dugout, Clement heralded his side’s display at the Eleda Stadium as Rangers’ best performance of the season. “It was the perfect start to the campaign,” he said. “The perfect start to the game also. Malmo are a really difficult opponent to play against. They play with a lot of running actions but in a chaotic style - it's difficult to defend against.

“My players did a massive job sticking to the plan, all game, all 90 minutes long. The guys who started, the guys who came on. And we used the spaces also in a really good way with the ball. So it was a very mature performance that I saw from my team. I think it’s the best result of the season so far. But it doesn't mean it's going to stay the best that we’ve had. I think we need to work hard to make it better and that's what we're going to do.”