Perhaps it's fitting that Rangers saw their Europa League campaign end in surreal and nightmarish fashion against a team from the city that gave us Franz Kafka.
On a disastrous night at Ibrox the Premiership champions were reduced to nine men as goals from Peter Olayinka and Nicolae Stanciu sent Slavia Prague cruising into the quarter-finals.
Kemar Roofe left goalkeeper Ondrej Kolar with a horror injury and Leon Balogun was shown a second yellow as the match slipped away.
Rangers came into the game with the cushion of an away goal and the confidence of a year-long unbeaten home record but as in all nightmares their running looked slow and wrong decisions abounded.
As with Bayer Leverkusen last season the last 16 proved a step too far, the quality just that little bit too high, as the nine men woke up with from their European dream with a showering of icy water.
The crucial away goal in Prague was set up by Ianis Hagi and scored by Filip Helander but neither man started in the return.
Manager Steven Gerrard appeared keen to play a higher line and congest the midfield, so Leon Balogun and Scott Arfield came in to the XI.
Slavia went without striker Jan Kuchta, with Oscar coming in and Abdullah Sima playing through the middle in a 4-3-3.
It was a furious start as Ryan Kent left Alexander Bah for dead before sending in a low cross that caused panic in the Czech defence.
Moments later Balogun had to be alert to cut out a ball across the six yard box that could have brought an away goal inside the first five minutes.
As in the first leg Rangers struggled to cope with the intensity of Slavia and the Czechs got their away goal with 15 minutes played.
National team captain Jan Boril got free down the left and whipped one in for Peter Olayinka. McGregor got a hand on his powerful near post header but couldn't keep it out. It wasn't a howler by any stretch of the imagination but after his heroics in Prague the veteran may well feel he could have done better.
The hosts looked to hit back immediately but Ondrej Kolar got down smartly to save Kent's strike from the edge of the area.
Rangers were struggling to get into the rhythm of the game though, with Slavia setting a frenetic pace as they looked for a killer second.
They could have got it just before the break when Sima was sent sprawling to the turf by Balogun, but referee Orel Grinfeeld waved away what looked like a solid penalty shout.
Ianis Hagi was sent for a vigorous half-time warm-up but Gerrard opted not to send the playmaker on for the restart.
Instead it was Kemar Roofe who was the first change, replacing Scott Arfield, while Trpisovsky sent on three subs just before the hour mark.
Rangers were asserting themselves on the ball far more but struggled to find a way to test Kolar, with Kamara dragging wide from a decent shooting position.
And things went from bad to worse for Gerrard's men when Roofe saw red after an hour.
The striker looked to race onto a long ball while Kolar, in typical fashion, came out to try and clear. Roofe went for the ball but kicked the Czech international in the face and could have no complaints when he was shown a red card for serious foul play.
The stricken goalkeeper couldn't continue and was replaced by 18-year-old Matyas Vagner, making his senior debut.
Whether Slavia were shellshocked or Rangers galvanised by adversity, the hosts had their best 10 minutes of the game in the wake of the horror injury, but they suffered a further nightmare at the other end.
Balogun received a second yellow card to send his team down to nine and Stanciu killed the tie from the resulting free-kick. The Romanian international was a long way out but we saw in Prague what his right foot can do and he whipped the set piece high into McGregor's top corner.
Rangers were really losing their discipline in the closing stages before Slavia star Ondrej Kudela sparked a furious argument on the touchline late on after whispering in Glen Kamara's ear.
The Slavia man and Connor Goldson were both booked, but the home players clearly felt further action should have been taken.
Whatever was said any on-field punishment wouldn't have made a difference on a nightmare evening for Rangers.
3 talking points
Aribo fails to deliver
There's no question Joe Aribo is one of the most talented players in the Rangers squad but his consistency has been questioned.
This season he's blown hot far more than cold but he struggled against the Czechs on Thursday night.
Against a swarm of red and white shirts the Nigeran international failed to impose himself, looking far too languid against the suffocating press.
Aribo is the kind of player who can win a match on his own, and he's done it in Europe before, but he was far from his best against Slavia.
No Slavia shame
While they weren't the biggest name in the draw, going out to Slavia is not a failure for Rangers.
The Czechs have been hugely impressive in Europe in recent seasons and didn't look out of their depth in a Champions League group last season that included Borussia Dortmund, Inter and Barcelona.
Any lingering doubts were dispelled when they dumped Leicester out and Slavia were worth their win over the two legs here.
Rangers ultimately lost by the odd goal to a very good team, and while it will hurt now it shouldn't diminish the strides they continue to make.
Questions for Gerrard
Gerrard opted to start with Leon Balogun ahead of first leg goalscorer Filip Helander.
It was a decision that made a degree of sense as Rangers looked to play a higher line and pile on the pressure in midfield.
The German had a disastrous night though and, having been lucky not to give away a penalty in the first half, saw red for a poor challenge in the second.
It's easy to be wise after the fact, but Gerrard may wish he'd gone with the ice-cool Swede.
