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There was impressive effectiveness in the way the Italian side dealt with this trip to Scotland. Minimum of fuss. Roma from Rome did, nonetheless, meet favourable opposition when putting their Europa League bid back on track. There was a glaring gulf in quality between the Serie A outfit and a Rangers squad that has now suffered defeat in a team record seven continental matches in a row.

Positively, the home side at least fought hard during a second half when capitulation felt the probable option. Yet, the match was decided as a competition by then. Rangers remain rooted to the foot of the tournament, which should constitute an disgrace to a club of such stature. Roma have ambitions once more on achieving significant success. One slight disappointment in this match was in not producing a result appropriately depicting men against boys.

Surprisingly, this marked only the Roman club’s second European joust with Scottish opposition since the historic Fairs Cup fixtures with Hibs in 1961. The previous one, against Dundee United 23 years later, became overshadowed (to put it mildly) by the bribing of a referee. Back then, teams from Scotland could vie with the top sides in Europe. The current campaign has seen the UEFA coefficient drop to a point that will shortly have major ramifications.

Danny Röhl’s key attribute so far as the fanbase are see it is that he isn’t Russell Martin. Martin’s dismal tenure as the head coach continued for just over four months in the initial phase of this season. The German coach, the new man at the helm, has displayed potential though within a tiny sample size. The dugouts saw a clash of generations; the Rangers boss is thirty-six, his opposite number the Roma manager is sixty-seven.

A further factor was much more noticeable as the teams took the field. Rangers’ obvious lack of height against the visitors looked ominous. This point was proven within 13 minutes as the Roma midfielder comfortably flicked on a corner at the front post. At the back, the Argentine winger sprinted into space to fire his team ahead. A Roma team minus the injured Evan Ferguson and their star attacker, who have been criticised for lack of cutting edge despite decent performances in this campaign, were pleased with their early advantage.

The Ibrox side should have levelled matters instantly. Instead, Youssef Chermiti screwed his shot wide after a defensive error in the visitors’ backline. Chermiti’s eight-million-pound purchase from Everton has increased scrutiny of the club’s recruitment team. He has at least the physique to be an productive striker but appears reluctant or incapable to use them.

Roma dominated opening period possession from that point. Roma doubled their lead through their captain, whose bent effort into the bottom corner of Jack Butland’s net arrived after a pass from the Ukrainian forward. Rangers will lament the fact Pellegrini was left in blissful isolation but it was a gorgeous strike. Ibrox, typically a raucous venue on European nights, had been quietened nine minutes until halftime. Even the boos which met the half-time whistle were timid; Rangers were clearly in the midst of being overwhelmed.

The second period began against a unusual atmosphere. Those Rangers fans directed their focus for the latest time towards the club’s chief executive, Patrick Stewart, and sporting director, Kevin Thelwell. Two banners, clearly sinister in tone, showed the duo with bullseyes on their images. One wonders what the Rangers chairman makes of the situation. Ultimately, the chairman had an low-profile life as a wealthy entrepreneur in the US before fronting a takeover of this club. Paying punters have not targeted the owner yet but there is a mutinous feeling around the club. This is unsurprising; The team’s leadership is wholly unimpressive.

Right on cue, the striker was sent through on goal on the 60-minute mark and found only the outside of the goal. This actually triggered Rangers’ finest spell of the game, in which their substitute Thelo Aasgaard fired just wide. Yet, nonetheless, hard to determine Roma’s continued attacking motivation until Zeki Celik was presented with a opportunity all of a yard out which he inexplicably hit up and on to the bottom of the crossbar.

That opportunity as far as clear-cut chances were concerned. The series of substitutions from both teams resulted in this fixture ended more in the fashion of a summer exhibition than competitive match. That scenario benefited Roma perfectly. It prompted reflection to ponder how exactly Rangers, finalists in this competition in 2022 and worthy of the quarter-finals a last year, arrived at the stage of just participating.