Danny Röhl’s first European night at Ibrox ended in familiar frustration as Rangers fell 2–0 to Roma, leaving the club bottom of the UEFA Europa League’s league phase and facing the prospect of an early exit from continental competition.+
Röhl made bold calls in his starting XI, keeping faith with Youssef Chermiti and Nasser Djiga after criticism following the League Cup semi-final defeat to Celtic, while 18-year-old Mikey Moore was handed a start after his upturn in form under the new head coach.
Roma travelled without Paulo Dybala, Ángelino and Evan Ferguson, yet still carried the greater cutting edge.
The night began with thunderous theatre. The Gladiator score boomed over the speakers as the Copland unveiled a colossal Roman Colosseum tifo.
The symbolism was unmistakable: Rangers would need a warrior’s performance to revive a faltering European campaign.
But after a competitive start, Rangers were undone by familiar failings.
On 13 minutes, they failed to win the first contact from a corner and left Matías Soulé unmarked at the back post to make it 1–0. Another avoidable concession. Another failure to deal with basics. Another goal lost from a set piece.
Chermiti came close shortly after, spinning and firing just wide after John Souttar sent a long pass over the top, but Roma absorbed pressure and struck again on 37 minutes.
Dovbyk was allowed to bring the ball down under little pressure from Souttar, square across goal, and Lorenzo Pellegrini calmly slotted past Butland after being completely missed by the at-fault James Tavernier.
VAR upheld the goal. The damage felt self-inflicted.
Rangers improved after the break. The introduction of Thelo Aasgaard, Danilo and later Bojan Miovski and Findlay Curtis gave a little more energy in forward areas.
Tavernier drove the team up field, Moore again impressed in tight spaces, Chermiti forced saves and Danilo was denied at close range.
Some better hold up play and movement from the Portuguese striker, who has been linked with a loan move back to his homeland just months after his arrival from Everton for £8m, but yet again his composure in the final phase let him down.
Overall Rangers lacked precision and control, losing possession too cheaply and struggling to build sustained attacking phases.
And while the football flickered without igniting, the mood in the stands turned sharply. A huge banner spread across the Govan Stand:
“Make Rangers great again – this is not a hobby; this is our lives.”
Stewards attempted to confiscate it. The fans simply moved it. Then the chanting began, unmistakably directed at Kevin Thelwell and Patrick Stewart, who also had unfavourable banners aimed at them.
On a night framed visually as a Roman Colosseum, the support delivered the emperor’s thumbs down toward the club’s hierarchy, a clear verdict on the direction of the institution.
Roma could have added a third when an open goal effort struck the bar, but the Italians did not need it.
Rangers, for all the second-half effort, rarely looked likely to alter the outcome.
Full-time: Rangers 0–2 Roma.
On a night of Colosseum imagery, Rangers fall to Roma as supporters turn their fury on the club’s hierarchy.
Another European night passes with frustration rather than fire. Röhl retains the faith of the support, the reaction is not for him.
But those above him have now been judged loudly, publicly, and symbolically.
At Ibrox, the Colosseum spoke and called it for blood.