Put simply, they were outclassed on the night by one of the greatest teams in the world although better sides than Rangers have come to Manchester and left with even greater hammerings than the 3-0 defeat the Ibrox side suffered.
They lacked any sort of real punch up front and Tim Howard in the United goal must have had one of his quietest nights in a long while.
For Rangers, the writing was on the wall almost from the start. They kicked off and knocked the ball around for a minute before United took over. Those first 60 seconds were to be the only time McLeish’s men looked comfortable on the ball the whole night.
The next 20 minutes, in particular, were X-rated viewing from a Rangers’ perspective as United threatened to run riot.
They scored once – the Light Blues again conceding a goal after just five minutes like they did in the first match – and came close to adding to their tally on numerous occasions.
Your heart sank and you slunk lower in your seat every time Cristiano Ronaldo or Ryan Giggs received possession, steadied themselves and prepared to attack down the flanks as the Light Blues’ defence retreated with indecent haste.
For those Rangers fans watching on television at home, it must have been a case of peering through the cracks in their fingers from behind the sofa and hoping that somehow it would all get better. It never did.
As was the case a fortnight ago, McLeish’s side knew they would face an uphill battle if they conceded an early goal yet they did just that.
Admittedly it took an extraordinary strike to give United the lead. Diego Forlan has traditionally been viewed as some sort of comical mis-fit over the past four years but he is currently enjoying a rare purple patch and he will unlikely score a better goal than the one he managed here.
Roy Keane’s cross was headed weakly away by Michael Ball to the edge of the penalty box where the Uruguayan swivelled to pummel a volley past Stefan Klos.
It was enough to send United’s self-rightous glory-hunting fans into voice and their smug crowing would continue throughout what was probably McLeish’s darkest hour since he became manager almost two years ago.
Ruud van Nistelrooy headed just over from a tantalising Ronaldo cross, Henning Berg nodded a dangerous centre over his own crossbar before Craig Moore had to clear Giggs’ effort off the goalline.
Rangers’ opportunities were fleeting and uninspiring. After United’s early torrent of pressure and their early goal, they backed off and allowed the Light Blues to knock the ball around freely in their own half.
It was a different story when they got to the halfway line, where United shut up shop to deny Rangers any real sort of space or opening.
Mikel Arteta and Stephen Hughes worked tiredlessly in the heart of the midfield but seemed unable to release either Michael Mols or Shota Arveladze with telling passes.
It was only when Peter Lovenkrands got on the ball did Rangers look like they may penetrate the red sea of defenders.
The Dane embarked on a mazy run after 36 minutes before Gary Neville’s sliding tackle halted his momentum but it was Rangers’ first real threatening move of the game.
However, any chance of a fightback ended with United’s second goal after 43 minutes.
Van Nistelrooy looked marginally offside when he glanced an effort past Klos with his knee but the goal stood and Rangers knew their chances had died with it.
With the result settled, the second half was a lot more subdued although had Tim Howard not blocked Michael Ball’s blistering free kick seven minutes after the re-start things may have turned out differently.
United killed the game stone dead on the hour mark when Van Nistelrooy netted from close range from Giggs’ free kick.
The match petered out amid a welter of substitutions and half-chances as United coasted through to full-time.
With Stuttgart winning comfortably in Athens, Rangers know they will now need to go to Germany and win if they are to progress through to the last 16.
MANCHESTER UTD (4-4-2): 14 Howard; 2 G Neville, 5 Ferdinand, 27 Silvestre, 25 Fortune; 7 Ronaldo, 16 Keane, 3 P Neville, 11 Giggs (Kleberson 67), 10 van Nistelrooy, (Fletcher 76) 21 Forlan (Bellion 67)
Subs not used: Carroll, Butt, O’Shea, Djemba Djemba
Booked: None
RANGERS (4-4-2): 1 Klos; 15 Khizanishvili, 25 Berg, 3 Moore (Ross 67), 18 Ball; 26 Lovenkrands, 23 Arteta, 27 Hughes, 16 Vanoli (Burke 82); 7 Arveladze, 10 Mols (Capucho 56)
Subs not used: McGregor, Ostenstad, Emerson, Dowie
Booked: None
Man of the Match: Henning Berg