Rangers still bottom of Europa League after Roma defeat
The boos returned to Ibrox as Rangers slumped to a fourth straight Europa League defeat to remain rooted to the bottom of the table. More banners against the club's board were unfurled as they failed to recover from their League Cup defeat to Celtic.
Roma, who started the night just three points ahead of Danny Röhl's side, took the lead when Matias Soule knocked in Bryan Cristante's ball with ease.
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Rangers fans unfurled banners against the board
They doubled their lead before half-time. Rangers' defence switched off and Lorenzo Pellegrini curled the ball into the net.Rangers are now one of only two teams yet to register a point, and have conceded eight goals while scoring just once.
European troubles continue
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Rangers fans look dejected as they watch another Europa League defeat
Sunday's Old Firm loss was a setback for Röhl and he freshened up his side on Thursday with Max Aarons, Mikey Moore, Djeidi Gassama and Connor Barron coming in as Derek Cornelius, Mohamed Diomande, Danilo and Thelo Aasgaard dropped out.
Roma, who had lost their last two Europa League fixtures, were without key players Evan Ferguson, Paulo Dybala, Angelino and Leon Bailey, but it did not have a detrimental effect on Gian Piero Gasperini's side
Ukraine striker Artem Dovbyk came in to lead the line and the Serie A outfit took the lead after 13 minutes following sloppy play from Gers defender Jayden Meghoma which led to a Roma corner.Pellegrini delivered from the right, captain Cristante flicked on and Soule stole in at the back post to score.It was too easy.Moments later Rangers' much-maligned striker Youssef Chermiti fired wide from an angle after a Roma mix-up before Soule tested goalkeeper Jack Butland with a powerful drive, Mario Hermoso heading over from the corner.The Italian side added a second when Dovbyk collected a pass from Gianluca Mancini and, under little pressure from defender John Souttar, laid the ball off to Pellegrini, who assuredly side-footed it past Butland.A quick-fire Gers retort saw Mancini block a shot from Moore after Roma keeper Mile Svilar had spilled a Gassama cross.
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AS Roma's Lorenzo Pellegrini (centre) celebrates scoring to make it 2-0 against Rangers
When Aasgaard replaced Meghoma for the start of the second half and Rangers went to a back four, home fans chanted against Kevin Thelwell and Patrick Stewart, both men getting more criticism as the game continued.In the 58th minute Moore drove just wide of the far post from the edge of the box, while Chermiti hit the side-netting with another effort and Aasgaard fired a shot wide.Roma launched a quick-fire attack in the 69th minute, but from two yards out Zeki Celik somehow managed to hit the bar from a Kostas Tsimikas knockdown and Butland gathered.There was no more drama as the game fizzled out on what was another sobering night for Röhl and his Rangers side.'We want to win this game in the future'
Rangers head coach Danny Röhl:"It's disappointing, the result. We did, in some key moments, not the right things that we should do."I've said this many times, and I will repeat this, this game at the moment we need to grow in."We want to win this game in the future, but at the moment there are a lot of things that we have to increase."In the second half, I changed the shape and had one more player higher on the pitch. I felt then until the 75th minute that there could be something if we used one moment to bring the belief or the confidence in a good direction."But we couldn't, and then in the end it was a very experienced side we played."Dodgy defence proves costly again
Sky Sports' Alison Conroy:After four straight defeats it will take a monumental turnaround for Rangers to qualify for the knock-out stage of the Europa League.Although not impossible, they will need to take something from their last four games against Braga, Ludogorets, Ferencvaros and Porto to have any hope.Defensive issues are continuing to plague them. They have conceded at least two goals in each of their games in the competition this season.Danny Röhl has a lot of problems to solve, but the vulnerability at the back will have to be a priority. They look panicked at set-pieces with Soule's opener coming from a corner while John Souttar switched off for their second.Next up is Dundee on Sunday, live on Sky Sports, as they look to claw their way into a Premiership title race. They are 14 points behind leaders Hearts, albeit with a game in hand, and five behind Celtic.The fans are frustrated and want to see more positivity on the pitch.What's coming up for Rangers?
