Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Rangers gaffer Gerrard talks up Ibrox star man Morelos for displays
STEVEN Gerrard insists he never lost faith in Hampden fall guy Alfredo Morelos and now believes he is in the running for the Europa League’s player of the tournament.
The Colombian took the brunt of the blame for the defeat in Sunday’s Betfred Cup Final after passing up a string of golden chances against Celtic, including a penalty.
But Rangers’ top-scorer shrugged off the nightmare display to fire the goal against Young Boys that propelled his side into the last 32.
Borna Barisic’s late own goal denied the Light Blues top spot in Group G and meant they could come up against one of the sides knocked out of the Champions League when the tournament resumes in February.
But Gerrard – whose side now go into Monday’s draw for the knockout stage – was delighted to see his talisman bury those Hampden ghosts and leap to the top of the Europa League scoring charts with his sixth groupstage strike.
He said: “I’m not surprised. People asked me about Alfredo, how he would be affected.
“Alfredo is Alfredo. He’s a born goalscorer. He’s a human being, some days he won’t be able to be the hero.
“But he’s got to be up there as player of the tournament so far. He’s scored big goals against top opposition.
“I had no doubt he was going to bounce back. That’s what I see in him.
“If he gets praise, he’s right back on to perform. If he gets criticism, he tends to put it behind him and do his best for the team.”
Of their Euro progress, Gerrard added: “It’s a fantastic feeling, especially after the last few days.
“The boys deserve credit for getting it done.”