Rangers’ European Nightmare Deepens as Jablonec End Their Season in Penalty Shootout

Rangers’ European campaign came to a humiliatingly early end as the Scottish giants were beaten by Czech side Jablonec in a penalty shootout, prompting manager Derek McInnes to admit he was “embarrassed” by his team’s performance.

Rangers entered the second leg of their Conference League playoff with a 1-0 advantage, but Jablonec levelled the tie after winning the return match by the same score. The Czech side then held their nerve to secure a 4-3 victory in the penalty shootout, ending Rangers’ hopes of European football before the end of August.

The defeat means Rangers will have no European competition beyond August for the first time since 2017, marking another painful chapter for the Glasgow club.

McInnes, who is in his first season in charge, did not hide his disappointment and accepted responsibility for the failure.

“We should be winning this tie, there’s no two ways about it,” McInnes said, admitting that Rangers had been far below the level expected of the club.

The result came after Rangers had already been knocked out of Europa League qualifying by Poland’s Jagiellonia Bialystok, leaving the Conference League as their final route into Europe.

McInnes stressed that while responsibility was shared, he had to accept his role as manager in failing to produce a better performance.

The Rangers setback came just two days after fierce rivals Celtic suffered their own dramatic European collapse. Celtic squandered a commanding 4-0 aggregate lead against LASK, conceding five unanswered goals, including the decisive strike in extra time, to crash out of Champions League qualifying.

For Scottish football’s two biggest clubs, it has been a disastrous week in Europe. While Celtic were left ruing another missed chance to reach the Champions League, Rangers must now regroup quickly after their European season ended before it had truly begun.

For McInnes, the challenge is clear, improve performances, restore confidence and ensure Rangers respond to one of their most embarrassing European exits in recent years.