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Roma displayed impressive effectiveness about the way the Italian side dealt with this journey to Glasgow. Minimum of fuss. Roma from Italy’s capital did, nonetheless, face manageable rivals when placing their Europa League bid on the right path. Observers noted a obvious gulf in quality between the Serie A outfit and a Rangers squad that has now suffered defeat in a club record seven continental matches in a row.

Positively, the home side at least fought hard during a later period when capitulation felt the probable outcome. However, the match was decided as a contest by then. The Scottish club remain anchored at the bottom of the tournament, which should represent an disgrace to a team of such stature. Roma have eyes again on making proper impact. One slight disappointment here was in not producing a result appropriately depicting men against boys.

Surprisingly, this marked only Roma’s second-ever continental encounter with a team from Scotland since Fairs Cup fixtures with Hibs in 1961. Their last such match, against Dundee United over two decades later, became marred (to put it mildly) by the corruption of a referee. Back then, Scottish clubs could compete with the best in the continent. The current campaign has seen the UEFA coefficient drop to a level that will shortly have huge ramifications.

Danny Röhl’s main quality so far as the fanbase are concerned is that he is not his predecessor. The latter’s dismal spell as the head coach continued for 123 days in the initial phase of the campaign. Röhl, the recent appointment at the helm, has shown promise albeit within a limited timeframe. The technical areas witnessed a generation game; the Rangers boss is thirty-six, his opposite number the Roma manager is sixty-seven.

A further factor was much more noticeable as the sides lined up. The home team’s glaring short stature against the visitors looked worrying. That concern was proven within the opening quarter-hour as Bryan Cristante easily flicked on a corner at the near post. Following up, Matías Soulé sprinted into space to knock his team ahead. The visitors without the unavailable their young striker and Paulo Dybala, who have been criticised for lack of cutting edge even with decent performances in this campaign, were delighted with their early advantage.

Rangers could have levelled matters immediately. Instead, Youssef Chermiti sent his effort off target after a mix-up in the Roma defence. The player’s eight-million-pound signing from Everton has piled pressure on the Rangers transfer hierarchy. He has at least the physique to be an effective centre forward but appears unwilling or unable to utilize them fully.

Roma controlled first-half the ball from that point. Roma extended their advantage through Lorenzo Pellegrini, whose bent effort into the far post of Jack Butland’s net came after a lay off from Artem Dovbyk. The hosts will lament the fact the midfielder was left in blissful isolation but it was a gorgeous strike. The stadium, usually a raucous place on continental evenings, had been silenced with time still remaining until halftime. The discontent which met the half-time whistle were timid; the home team were simply in the midst of being outclassed.

The second period started against a unusual backdrop. Supporters turned their attentions for the latest time towards the club’s chief executive, the CEO, and sporting director, Kevin Thelwell. A pair of displays, obviously menacing in tone, showed the duo with targets on their images. It raises questions what the Rangers chairman thinks about the situation. Ultimately, Andrew Cavenagh had an low-profile career as a wealthy entrepreneur in the US before leading a takeover of this club. Paying punters have not turned on Cavenagh yet but there is a rebellious mood in the air. It is one which is easy to understand; Rangers’ management is completely unimpressive.

Right on cue, Chermiti was played in on goal on the 60-minute mark and found only the side netting. That moment sparked the home side’s finest spell of the match, in which their substitute the young midfielder fired just wide. It was, nonetheless, difficult to gauge the visitors’ continued offensive intent until Zeki Celik was given a chance all of a yard out which he somehow lifted and on to the underside of the crossbar.

That was it as far as meaningful chances were involved. The series of substitutions from both teams resulted in this fixture ended more in the style of a pre-season friendly than competitive match. This of course suited Roma perfectly. There was cause to consider how exactly Rangers, runners-up in this tournament in 2022 and strong enough of the last eight a last year, reached the point of making up the numbers.