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Roma displayed impressive effectiveness in the way the Italian side handled this journey to Scotland. Minimum of fuss. Roma from Rome did, nonetheless, face manageable rivals when placing their Europa League bid on the right path. There was a glaring gulf in quality between Roma and a the Scottish team side that has now suffered defeat in a club record seven European games in a row.

To their credit, the home side at least fought hard during a second half when capitulation felt the more likely outcome. Yet, the game was decided as a competition by then. Rangers remain rooted to the bottom of the tournament, which should constitute an embarrassment to a club of this standing. The Giallorossi have eyes once more on achieving significant success. One slight disappointment in this match was in not producing a scoreline appropriately depicting the mismatch in quality.

Surprisingly, this marked only the Roman club’s second European joust with Scottish opposition since Fairs Cup fixtures with Hibernian in 1961. Their last such match, against the Terrors 23 years later, became marred (to put it mildly) by the corruption of a match official. Back then, teams from Scotland could compete with the best in Europe. The current campaign has seen the UEFA coefficient drop to a level that will soon have major ramifications.

The new manager’s key attribute so far as the Rangers support are concerned is that he is not Russell Martin. Martin’s dismal tenure as the head coach lasted 123 days in the early part of the campaign. The German coach, the recent appointment at the helm, has shown promise albeit within a tiny sample size. The technical areas saw a clash of generations; Röhl is 36, his opposite number the Roma manager is 67.

A further factor was much more noticeable as the sides lined up. Rangers’ glaring short stature against the Italians looked ominous. This point was confirmed within 13 minutes as Bryan Cristante easily redirected a set-piece at the front post. At the back, Matías Soulé sprinted into space to fire Roma ahead. The visitors minus the unavailable Evan Ferguson and Paulo Dybala, who have been questioned for lack of cutting edge despite reasonable results in this campaign, were delighted with their quick lead.

The Ibrox side could have equalised immediately. Instead, Youssef Chermiti screwed his shot wide after a defensive error in the visitors’ backline. Chermiti’s £8m signing from the Toffees has increased scrutiny of the club’s recruitment team. He has at least the physique to be an productive centre forward but seems reluctant or incapable to utilize them fully.

Roma controlled first-half possession from that point. Roma doubled their lead through their captain, whose curling shot into the bottom corner of the goalkeeper’s net arrived after a lay off from Artem Dovbyk. The hosts will bemoan the fact the midfielder stood in complete freedom but it was a gorgeous strike. The stadium, usually a raucous place on European nights, had been quietened nine minutes before the break. Even the boos which greeted the interval were subdued; Rangers were simply in the midst of being overwhelmed.

After the break started against a unusual backdrop. Those Rangers fans turned their attentions for the latest time towards the top executive, the CEO, and sporting director, Kevin Thelwell. A pair of displays, clearly sinister in tone, depicted the pair with bullseyes on their faces. One wonders what the Rangers chairman makes of all this. Ultimately, Andrew Cavenagh had an anonymous life as a wealthy entrepreneur in the United States before leading a takeover of this club. Fans have not turned on the owner so far but there is a rebellious feeling around the club. This is unsurprising; The team’s management is completely unimpressive.

As if scripted, the striker was played in on goal on the hour mark and hit the side netting. This actually triggered Rangers’ finest spell of the match, in which their substitute the young midfielder shot narrowly past the post. Yet, however, difficult to gauge the visitors’ remaining offensive intent until Zeki Celik was presented with a chance from close range which he inexplicably hit up and onto the underside of the bar.

That opportunity as far as clear-cut chances were concerned. The raft of changes from each side meant this game ended more in the style of a summer exhibition than competitive match. That scenario benefited Roma fine. It prompted reflection to ponder how exactly the Glasgow club, runners-up in this tournament in 2022 and worthy of the quarter-finals a season ago, reached the point of making up the numbers.