Europe is Morelos’ time to sparkle
When you are polishing the edges of a rough diamond, it is important it does not lose all of its sharpness and continues to sparkle.
There is no doubt Rangers manager Stevengerrardandhiscoachingstaff have succeeded in making Alfredo Morelos a far more rounded player than the one they inherited when taking charge at Ibrox in the summer of 2018.
The next stage of the Colombian international striker’s development is to ensure his predatory instinct inside the penalty area is not dulled by a focus on improvements to other aspects of his game.
Rangers’ urgent need to have Morelos firing on all cylinders was laid bare at Ibrox on Saturday. The 25-yearold’s link-up work was largely beyond reproach, illustrating again how he has become far more accomplished as a team player under Gerrard.
But it was his wastefulness in front of goal, passing up premium chances to put the game beyond Hearts, which contributed to the Scottish champions dropping two points as Craig Halkett plundered a dramatic 90th minute equaliser for the Gorgie side.
Morelos has scored just twice in his last 10 appearances for Rangers, a strike rate which Gerrard must hope can be quickly improved as his squad approaches a pivotal sequence of fixtures both in Europe and on the domestic front.
It’s certainly no coincidence that Rangers’ struggles to rediscover their optimum form collectively since the start of the campaign has come in tandem with Morelos not being at his best.
If he is seeking the perfect stage to kick start his season, then it is surely at Ibrox on Thursday when Rangers faceamust-winshowdownwithdanish champions Brondby on matchday three of their Europa League Group A campaign.
Pointless after losing 2-0 at home to top seeds Lyon and 1-0 away to Sparta Prague in the previous two rounds of fixtures, Rangers have left themselves with little margin for error if they hope to qualify for the knockout phase of the tournament for a third consecutive year.
Morelos has been the key figure in the admirable progress Rangers have made in Europe under Gerrard, a talismanic presence in leading the line on some memorable nights.
He has scored 25 goals in 50 appearances so far, eclipsing Ally Mccoist as Rangers’ all-time leading scorer in Europe. Only Henrik Larsson, with 35 goals in 56 games for Celtic, has scored more times for a Scottish club in European competition.
It would be fitting if the Europa League provided the backdrop for Morelos to reach a landmark moment in his Rangers career which currently sees him just one goal short of hitting the century mark in all competitions.
In the first two seasons of Gerrard’s tenure, there was an over-reliance on Morelos. He was top scorer with 30 and 29 goals respectively in 2018-19 and 2019-20, but, despite those prolific numbers, Rangers were unable to sustain a title challenge.
As Morelos’ own game evolved, Gerrard brought greater depth and variety to the goalscoring capabilities of his team as they romped their way to the Premiership crown last season. While his contribution to the title success was still significant, Morelos’ tally of 17 goals saw him third in the scorers’ list behind James Tavernier (19) and Kemar Roofe (18).
The recruitment of Roofe and Cedric Itten, inset, at the start of last season was carried out to lift some of the burden off Morelos and provide Gerrard with greater options in attack. While Roofe has been a clear