Rangers’ rotten start to the season continued with a second consecutive Europa League defeat, this time at the hands of Austrian champions Sturm Graz.
A stoppage-time winner at Livingston on Sunday earned Russell Martin’s side their first Scottish Premiership win of the campaign at the seventh attempt, but any hope of momentum coming from that dissipated with Tomi Horvat’s early opener.
Rangers, not for the first time, were masters of their own demise. James Tavernier’s feeble throw-in in his own final third was hooked back, laid off and fired in beyond a suspect Jack Butland.
The entire away defence were left wanting at the second goal, though.
A lasered free-kick sliced open a sleeping backline and allowed the influential Georgia international Otar Kiteishvili to stab in a second before the break.
Not that it could have got much worse, but Rangers – who lost at home to Genk on matchday one – were markedly improved after half-time and Djeidi Gassama, often the only bright light in blue, lashed in a lifeline.
Revived by that, the Ibrox side pushed for their first European point of the campaign, with Youssef Chermiti, Nico Raskin and John Souttar all coming close against a Graz side who lost last week away to Midtjylland.
It was too little too late for Martin’s side, though, who have now have just five wins in his 16 games in charge in all competitions.