Malmo boss Henrik Rydstrom is expecting a clash of styles as the Swedish giants host Philippe Clement’s Rangers in Thursday’s Europa League opener.
The Scottish game may have changed a little in recent years – less mud and thistles and more pass and move – but Rangers are certainly not afraid to turn a tactical boxing match into a bloody brawl if it suits them.
Philippe Clement’s Glasgow giants head to Sweden with a very impressive selection of European scalps in their collection.
Rangers have defeated Feyenoord, FC Porto, Braga, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund and Real Betis in continental competition. They were a penalty shoot-out away from claiming the Europa League title back in 2022, as well.
And Rydstrom is determined to ensure that his team – Malmo kick off against Rangers on Thursday afternoon at 5.45pm – do not fall into the ‘trap’ of letting Rangers knock them out of their rhythm, using the tenacity and the physicality of Connor Barron, John Souttar, Mohamed Diomande to stamp their own authority on proceedings.
Malmo boss shares plan to beat Rangers in Europa League
“We need to control the game more against Rangers than we did against Sparta Prague.,” Rydstrom says at his Wednesday press conference. “It’s also important that we don’t fall into the trap that I talked about [with regards to] the physical demands of the game.
“That’s not the way we want to play the game. So, if you understand what I mean, it’s more about forcing them to play our game than us playing their game, which can be more physical
“We have a good picture about our opponent, how strong they are. It’s always difficult to compare different leagues [but] we have seen them play a little bit in Europe and also in their own league.
“We know that they are strong in their league. We are [also] strong in our league.”
Rangers have changed a lot since 2021 Malmo meeting
It is hard to believe that three years have passed since Rangers and Malmo went head to head in that Champions League qualifier.
Antonio Colak – the former Gers striker – was leading the line for Malmo those days. It was a rapid-fire double at Ibrox in the first leg that put the Croatian on the club’s radar with Colak returning to Glasgow in royal rather than sky blue 11 months later.
Of the ten players who started during that Ibrox meeting, only two survive to this day. Back-up centre-half Leon Balogun and captain James Tavernier.
This is new-look Rangers roster. One that is finally starting to taking shape after a dramatic summer overhaul.
The majority of their signings are making a positive impression too – legendary striker Kris Boyd hailed Nedim Bajrami and Jefte after Rangers beat Dundee on Saturday – while Cyriel Dessers heads to Scandinavia on the back of seven goals in nine games to start the season.
“It is a well-organised team with structure that plays a little differently to what we do,” adds Rydstrom, who guided Malmo to the Allsvenskan title in 2023 and the Swedish Cup in 2024. “It is a team with clear positions that really play together as a team.
“We know that there is a higher intensity when we play away in Europe and more runs at high speed. It will be important tomorrow [to deal with this].”
