Rangers' rout latest Champions League lesson for Old Firm

GLASGOW: Rangers' 7-1 humiliation at the hands of Liverpool set a new record low for the Glasgow giants on home soil, but was just the latest lesson for Scottish clubs at the Champions League level.

After just four games of the group stage, both Celtic and Rangers have already been eliminated from the Champions League and need a series of results to go their way to have any chance of even dropping into the Europa League.

The second tier of European club competition is what both sides of the Old Firm divide have become accustomed to in recent years and where they are more protected from the financial gulf separating them from Europe's elite.

Rangers even reached the Europa League final just five months ago, only a penalty shootout separating Giovanni van Bronckhorst's men from glory against Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville.

Fast forward to Wednesday night and Van Bronckhorst was ashen-faced as he stood in front of the media trying to explain a second half capitulation that saw Rangers concede seven times on home soil for the first time ever.

All the more galling for Rangers is that Liverpool have so far this season looked far from the side that came so close to an unprecedented quadruple of trophies last season.

Jurgen Klopp's men have won just five games all season - two of which have come against Rangers in six days.

For 45 minutes, the home side were able to prey on Liverpool's insecurities at Ibrox.

Scott Arfield raised the roof with Rangers' first Champions League goal for 12 years to open the scoring.

A return to European football?s premier competition was celebrated as the culmination of Rangers' renaissance from the lower leagues of Scottish football over the past decade due to a financial implosion.

But the dream has quickly