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Roma displayed impressive effectiveness about the way Roma dealt with this trip to Scotland. Minimum of fuss. The team from Rome did, nonetheless, face manageable rivals when putting their European competition bid on the right path. Observers noted a glaring gulf in quality between the Serie A outfit and a Rangers squad that has now lost a team record seven continental matches in a row.

To their credit, the home side at least fought hard during a second half when capitulation felt the probable outcome. Yet, the game was decided as a contest by then. The Scottish club remain rooted to the bottom of the tournament, which should constitute an embarrassment to a team of this standing. Roma have ambitions again on making proper impact. Their only regret here was in not producing a result appropriately depicting the mismatch in quality.

Surprisingly, this marked only Roma’s second European joust with a team from Scotland since Fairs Cup business with Hibernian in 1961. Their last such match, against the Terrors over two decades later, became overshadowed (to put it mildly) by the corruption of a match official. Back then, teams from Scotland could vie with the top sides 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 Rangers support are concerned is that he is not Russell Martin. Martin’s dismal tenure as the head coach continued for 123 days in the early part of this season. The German coach, the new man at the helm, has shown promise albeit within a tiny sample size. The technical areas saw a generation game; the Rangers boss is 36, his counterpart Gian Piero Gasperini is 67.

Another element was far more striking as the teams took the field. Rangers’ glaring short stature against the Italians looked ominous. That concern was confirmed within 13 minutes as the Roma midfielder comfortably flicked on a set-piece at the front post. At the back, Matías Soulé burst forward to fire Roma ahead. The visitors without the injured Evan Ferguson and Paulo Dybala, who have been questioned for lack of cutting edge despite decent results in the tournament, were delighted with their quick lead.

The Ibrox side could have levelled matters immediately. Rather, the forward screwed his shot wide after a mix-up in the visitors’ backline. Chermiti’s £8m signing from the Toffees has piled pressure on the club’s recruitment team. He has at least the physical attributes to be an effective striker but appears reluctant or incapable to utilize them fully.

The Italian outfit controlled opening period the ball from that point. They doubled their lead through their captain, whose bent effort into the bottom corner of the goalkeeper’s net arrived after a pass from the Ukrainian forward. Rangers will bemoan the fact Pellegrini was left in blissful isolation but it was a superb strike. Ibrox, typically a boisterous venue on continental evenings, had been quietened with time still remaining before the break. Even the boos which greeted the interval were timid; the home team were clearly in the process of being outclassed.

The second period started against a curious backdrop. Supporters turned their attentions once again towards the club’s chief executive, the CEO, and sporting director, the director. A pair of displays, clearly menacing in tone, depicted the pair with bullseyes on their images. One wonders what the Rangers chairman thinks about all this. Ultimately, Andrew Cavenagh enjoyed an low-profile life as a successful businessman in the United States before leading a takeover of Rangers. Fans have not targeted the owner yet but there is a mutinous feeling around the club. It is one which is easy to understand; The team’s leadership is completely unconvincing.

As if scripted, the striker was played in on goal on the 60-minute mark and hit the side netting. That moment sparked the home side’s best period of the game, in which their replacement the young midfielder fired just wide. It was, however, difficult to gauge Roma’s continued offensive intent until Zeki Celik was given a opportunity from close range which he somehow lifted and on to the underside of the bar.

That was it as far as meaningful chances were involved. The raft of changes from both teams resulted in this fixture closed more in the fashion of a summer exhibition than serious contest. That scenario benefited the Italians fine. It prompted reflection to consider how exactly the Glasgow club, finalists in this tournament in recently and worthy of the quarter-finals a season ago, reached the stage of making up the numbers.