Ally McCoist reckons Rangers 'absolutely crumbled' at Ibrox against Liverpool as he branded the Champions League hammering as 'shocking' for Scottish football.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst's men hosted the English Premier League giants in part two of the Battle of Britain showdown in the Champions League. Scott Arfield sent the home fans wild on 17 minutes with the opening goal of the game but after Roberto Firmino's leveller and losing Connor Goldson to injury, the Ibrox men collapsed in the second period conceding six goals to lose out 7-1.
Superstar Mo Salah climbed off the bench to net a six minute hat-trick while Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott also got in on the act on a very, very tough night for the Ibrox men. Rangers hero McCoist believes the gulf in quality was evident to all in the final 25 minutes of the game as he labelled Liverpool as 'excellent' in the second 45 minutes.
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Celtic and Hearts have both picked up big losses this term in Europe but Rangers' Ibrox hammering is the worst of the lot for the pundit.
Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: "It was unbelievable second half. Looking at the game first half, Rangers were doing fine and competing well. You are thinking they can come out the second half and do the same.
"It was going to be difficult losing Goldson, because I thought he did particularly well first half. But they crumbled, they just absolutely crumbled. I am looking at 2-1 with 25 minutes to go, 3-1 with 15 minutes to go and then they just lost the plot.
"Salah came on and was ruthless. There was nothing more evident of the gulf than that last 25 minutes.
"At that level it can be so unforgiving. Even Ajax went 1-0 up and then they got beat 6-1 in the home game, and it just shows you if you're not on it, and the other team are in a ruthless mode, what can happen. Liverpool were excellent second half."
When asked about the gap between the English Premier League and Scotland's top flight, he added: "Miles away, it's absolutely miles. I'm looking at the game last night and Klopp's first subs he brings on Salah, Thiago and Andy Robertson. That tells you all you need to know.
"One of Rangers best players, Goldson, goes off and they bring on an 18-year-old kid (Leon King). I'm not singling him out because I thought he did okay, but I am just trying to expose the gulf in class.
"I thought Celtic had a good 45 minutes against Real Madrid at home, and played well against Shakhtar away and created chances against Leipzig away. They are sitting with one point, it's amazing.
"It's a shocking result for Scottish football. Hearts, Celtic and Rangers have had some bad results but this one is shocking."
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