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Roma displayed impressive effectiveness in the way the Italian side dealt with this journey to Glasgow. Without much drama. Roma from Rome did, however, face manageable rivals when placing their European competition bid back on track. There was a obvious gulf in quality between Roma and a the Scottish team squad that has now lost a club record seven continental matches consecutively.

Positively, the home side at least huffed and puffed during a later period when capitulation felt the more likely option. Yet, the match was decided as a competition by then. Rangers remain rooted to the foot of the tournament, which should constitute an embarrassment to a team of such stature. Roma have ambitions again on making proper impact. One slight disappointment here was in not delivering a scoreline appropriately depicting men against boys.

Amazingly, this marked only the Roman club’s second continental encounter with a team from Scotland since the historic Fairs Cup fixtures with Hibs in the early 60s. Their last such match, against the Terrors over two decades later, became overshadowed (to put it mildly) by the bribing of a referee. Back then, teams from Scotland could compete with the top sides in Europe. This season has seen the UEFA coefficient drop to a point that will soon have major ramifications.

Danny Röhl’s key attribute so far as the fanbase are concerned is that he is not Russell Martin. The latter’s dismal spell as the manager continued for 123 days in the initial phase of this season. Röhl, the recent appointment at the helm, has displayed potential though within a limited timeframe. The technical areas saw a clash of generations; Röhl is thirty-six, his counterpart the Roma manager is 67.

A further factor was far more striking as the sides took the field. Rangers’ glaring lack of height against the visitors looked ominous. That concern was proven within 13 minutes as the Roma midfielder easily redirected a set-piece at the front post. Following up, Matías Soulé burst forward to knock Roma ahead. The visitors without the injured their young striker and Paulo Dybala, who have been questioned for lack of cutting edge even with decent performances in the tournament, were pleased with their quick lead.

Rangers could have levelled matters immediately. Rather, the forward 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. Chermiti possesses at least the physique to be an productive centre forward but seems unwilling or unable to utilize them fully.

The Italian outfit dominated opening period the ball from that point. They doubled their lead through Lorenzo Pellegrini, whose bent effort into the far post of the goalkeeper’s net arrived after a pass from the Ukrainian forward. The hosts will lament the fact the midfielder was left in blissful isolation but it was a gorgeous strike. Ibrox, typically a raucous place on European nights, had been quietened nine minutes until halftime. Even the boos which met the half-time whistle were subdued; the home team were simply in the process of being outclassed.

The second period started against a curious backdrop. Those Rangers fans turned their attentions once again towards the club’s chief executive, the CEO, and transfer chief, Kevin Thelwell. Two banners, obviously sinister in tone, showed the duo with targets on their images. It raises questions what the club owner thinks about all this. After all, the chairman had an low-profile life as a wealthy entrepreneur in the United States before leading a takeover of Rangers. Paying punters have not targeted the owner so far but there is a rebellious mood around the club. This is unsurprising; The team’s management is completely unconvincing.

Right on cue, Chermiti was played in on goal on the hour mark and hit the outside of the goal. This actually triggered Rangers’ best period of the match, in which their substitute the young midfielder fired just wide. Yet, nonetheless, difficult to determine Roma’s continued offensive intent until Zeki Celik was given a chance all of a yard out which he inexplicably lifted and on to the underside of the crossbar.

That opportunity as far as meaningful opportunity were concerned. The raft of changes from each side resulted in this fixture closed more in the fashion of a pre-season friendly than competitive match. This of course suited Roma fine. It prompted reflection to ponder how on earth the Glasgow club, runners-up in this competition in 2022 and worthy of the quarter-finals a last year, reached the point of making up the numbers.