Quincy Charles
Rangers were eliminated from the Champions League qualifier at Ibrox due to fear and panic, according to Steven Gerrard.
Rangers were behind 2-1 after the first leg, but Alfredo Morelos of Colombia equalized in the 18th minute on Tuesday. Following a red card for Malmo midfielder Bonke Innocent right before the halftime, they appeared to be in command of the tie.
However, two sensational goals from Malmo attacker Antonio Colak early in the second half earned the Swedish team a 4-2 aggregate triumph, handing the Scottish champions their third consecutive defeat.
“We have tried to keep the heat on after being 2-1 down,” Gerrard told Premier Sports.
“You have to try different things, a bit of fear and a bit of panic sets in.
“We started playing hopeful balls into the box instead of trying to stay calm and play through.
“The reality is we have lost three games out of four and that is not good enough at Rangers. We are well aware of that. We now have to pick ourselves up and regroup.
“The most frustrating thing is we lost the second half 2-0 to 10 men.
“Defensively from the restart we were poor. There is no way to dress that up. We need to be better in those situations.”
