🔗 Share this article

There was admirable efficiency in the way Roma dealt with this journey to Scotland. Without much drama. The team from Rome did, nonetheless, face manageable rivals when placing their Europa League bid on the right path. There was a glaring difference in class between the Serie A outfit and a the Scottish team side that has now lost a club record seven continental matches in a row.

Positively, the home side at least huffed and puffed during a second half when capitulation felt the probable option. However, the match was settled as a competition by then. The Scottish club remain anchored at the bottom of the tournament, which should represent an disgrace to a team of such stature. The Giallorossi have ambitions again on achieving significant success. Their only regret in this match was in not producing a result appropriately depicting the mismatch in quality.

Amazingly, this marked only the Roman club’s second continental encounter with Scottish opposition since the historic Fairs Cup business with Hibernian in the early 60s. Their last such match, against Dundee United 23 years later, became marred (to put it politely) by the corruption of a match official. In those days, Scottish clubs could vie with the top sides in the continent. This season has seen the co-efficient plunge to a level that will soon have huge ramifications.

The new manager’s main quality up to now as the fanbase are concerned is that he isn’t his predecessor. The latter’s ghastly spell as the head coach continued for just over four months in the initial phase of the campaign. The German coach, the new man at the helm, has shown promise albeit within a limited timeframe. The dugouts saw a generation game; the Rangers boss is 36, his counterpart Gian Piero Gasperini is sixty-seven.

A further factor was much more noticeable as the teams took the field. Rangers’ obvious short stature against the visitors looked ominous. That concern was proven within 13 minutes as Bryan Cristante comfortably redirected a set-piece at the front post. At the back, Matías Soulé sprinted into space to knock his team ahead. The visitors minus the unavailable their young striker and Paulo Dybala, who have been questioned for bluntness even with reasonable performances in the tournament, were delighted with their early advantage.

Rangers should have levelled matters instantly. Instead, the forward screwed his shot wide after a defensive error in the visitors’ backline. The player’s eight-million-pound signing from the Toffees has piled pressure on the Rangers transfer hierarchy. Chermiti possesses at least the physique to be an productive striker but appears reluctant or incapable to use them.

The Italian outfit dominated opening period possession thereafter. They doubled their lead through Lorenzo Pellegrini, whose bent effort into the far post of Jack Butland’s net came after a pass from the Ukrainian forward. Rangers will lament the fact the midfielder stood in blissful isolation but it was a gorgeous finish. The stadium, usually a raucous venue on European nights, had been quietened with time still remaining before the break. The discontent which greeted the half-time whistle were subdued; the home team were clearly in the midst of being outclassed.

After the break began against a unusual backdrop. Those Rangers fans directed their focus once again towards the club’s chief executive, the CEO, and transfer chief, the director. A pair of displays, obviously sinister in tone, showed the pair with targets on their faces. One wonders what the Rangers chairman makes of all this. After all, Andrew Cavenagh had an low-profile career as a wealthy entrepreneur in the United States before fronting a acquisition of Rangers. Paying punters have not turned on the owner yet but there is a rebellious feeling in the air. This is easy to understand; The team’s management is completely unimpressive.

Right on cue, the striker was played in on the keeper on the 60-minute mark and found only the side netting. That moment sparked the home side’s best period of the match, in which their replacement Thelo Aasgaard fired just wide. It was, nonetheless, hard to gauge Roma’s remaining attacking motivation until Zeki Celik was given a opportunity all of a yard out which he somehow lifted and onto the bottom of the crossbar.

That opportunity as far as clear-cut chances were concerned. The raft of changes from each side resulted in this fixture closed more in the fashion of a summer exhibition than serious contest. That scenario benefited Roma perfectly. There was cause to ponder how exactly Rangers, finalists in this competition in recently and strong enough of the quarter-finals a last year, reached the point of just participating.