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There was impressive effectiveness in the way the Italian side dealt with this trip to Scotland. Without much drama. Roma from Italy’s capital did, nonetheless, face manageable rivals when putting their Europa League bid back on track. There was a glaring difference in class 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 huffed and puffed during a later period when surrender felt the more likely option. However, the game was settled as a competition at that stage. The Scottish club remain rooted to the bottom of the Europa League, which should represent an embarrassment to a team of this standing. The Giallorossi have eyes again on making proper impact. Their only regret in this match was in not delivering a result that truly reflected the mismatch in quality.

Surprisingly, this marked only the Roman club’s second European joust with a team from Scotland since the historic Fairs Cup fixtures with Hibernian in 1961. The previous one, against Dundee United over two decades later, became overshadowed (to put it mildly) by the bribing of a referee. In those days, Scottish clubs could vie with the top sides in Europe. This season has seen the UEFA coefficient drop to a point that will soon have huge ramifications.

The new manager’s main quality up to now as the Rangers support are see it is that he isn’t Russell Martin. Martin’s ghastly spell as the head coach continued for just over four months in the early part of the campaign. Röhl, the recent appointment at the helm, has shown promise albeit within a tiny sample size. The technical areas witnessed a clash of generations; Röhl is thirty-six, his opposite number the Roma manager is 67.

Another element was far more striking as the sides took the field. Rangers’ obvious short stature against the visitors looked ominous. This point was proven within 13 minutes as the Roma midfielder comfortably redirected a set-piece at the front post. At the back, Matías Soulé burst forward to knock his team ahead. A Roma team minus the unavailable Evan Ferguson and their star attacker, who have been questioned for lack of cutting edge even with decent performances in this campaign, were pleased with their quick lead.

The Ibrox side could have equalised instantly. Instead, the forward sent his effort off target after a mix-up in the visitors’ backline. The player’s £8m purchase from the Toffees has piled pressure on the club’s recruitment team. He has at least the physical attributes to be an productive centre forward but seems reluctant or incapable to use them.

Roma controlled first-half possession from that point. They extended their advantage through Lorenzo Pellegrini, whose curling shot into the bottom corner of Jack Butland’s net came after a lay off from Artem Dovbyk. Rangers will bemoan the fact Pellegrini stood in blissful isolation but it was a superb strike. Ibrox, usually a raucous place on European nights, had been quietened with time still remaining until halftime. Even the boos which met the interval were timid; the home team were clearly in the process of being outclassed.

The second period began against a curious backdrop. Those Rangers fans turned their attentions once again towards the club’s chief executive, the CEO, and sporting director, Kevin Thelwell. A pair of displays, clearly sinister in tone, showed the pair with bullseyes on their faces. One wonders what the Rangers chairman makes of the situation. After all, the chairman enjoyed an anonymous career as a successful businessman in the US before leading a acquisition of Rangers. Fans have not targeted Cavenagh so far but there is a mutinous mood in the air. It is one which is easy to understand; The team’s management is completely unimpressive.

As if scripted, the striker was played in on goal on the 60-minute mark and hit the side netting. That moment sparked Rangers’ best period of the match, in which their replacement Thelo Aasgaard shot narrowly past the post. Yet, nonetheless, hard to determine Roma’s remaining attacking motivation until Zeki Celik was presented with a opportunity from close range which he inexplicably lifted and onto the bottom of the crossbar.

That opportunity as far as clear-cut opportunity were concerned. The series of changes from both teams meant this fixture ended more in the fashion of a summer exhibition than competitive match. This of course suited Roma perfectly. There was cause to consider how exactly Rangers, runners-up in this competition in recently and worthy of the last eight a last year, arrived at the stage of just participating.