Rangers will take no further part in this season's Champions League but they left the competition last night with no little honour and a lingering sense of injustice. The Scots hit the woodwork three times, made the vast majority of chances and generally ran the game against the Germans.

Rangers understood that they could not afford to lose an early goal but their nervous start showed that it would not be easy against last season's European Cup runners-up.

Yet Rangers settled spectacularly well, their attack marshalled by Michael Mols. After 19 minutes, his exceptional skills with his left foot allowed him to slip three defenders on the right only for his cut back to be wastefully swished over the bar by Giovanni van Bronkhorst. Five minutes later van Bronkhorst returned the compliment with a cross that ended with the Dutchman's header striking the post.

But all those signs of encouragement counted for little when, in the 27th minute, Mols was forced out of the match after a freak accident.

That mixture of mis-chances and injury broke Rangers to the extent that Bayern took the lead in the 32nd minute when Mehmet Scholl broke clear and appeared to dive over the body of the goalkeeper, Stefan Klos, for the penalty to be awarded and subsequently converted by Thomas Strunz.

But Bayern were distinctly uncomfortable and after Wallace hit the bar with a shot, they started dipping into the book of dirty tricks to try and frustrate Rangers.

Rangers remained unabashed and were quite the more adventurous side in the second half. In the 46th minute the substitute Jonatan Johansson contrived a cross for van Bronkhurst once again to hit against the post. But it was the Finn himself who had the best opportunity to regain parity 10 minutes later when, taking a pass from Claudio Reyna, he struck a shot high over from a more than decent position.

Bayern Munich: Kahn, Matthaus, Linke, Babbel, Strunz, Fink, Effenberg (Tarnat 74), Lizarazu, Scholl (Salihamidzic 65), Elber, Santa Cruz (Sergio 65). Subs Not Used: Wessels, Andersson, Jancker, Zickler. Booked: Babbel, Elber, Strunz, Matthaus. Goals: Strunz 32 pen.

Rangers: Klos, Porrini, Moore, Amoruso, Numan (McCann 72), Reyna, Ferguson, Albertz, Van Bronckhorst, Mols (Johansson 30), Wallace (Amato 80). Subs Not Used: Charbonnier, Kanchelskis, Vidmar, Adamczuk. Booked: Van Bronckhorst, Amoruso.

Referee: V Pereira (Portugal).