It may have gone unnoticed, but Alfredo Morelos proved he’s more than just a goalscorer yesterday at Fir Park.
As Rangers were held to a 3-3 draw at Fir Park, Kyle Lafferty stole the headlines with a stunning brace. This led to supreme fan praise for the Northern Irishman, who really marked his return with his display.
However, fans can’t forget the performance of Morelos, who failed to net yesterday.
Alfredo magic
It’s easy to forget about the displays of strikers who don’t get on the score-sheet. Their job is, after all, to score goals. However, if it wasn’t for the performance of Morelos, Rangers wouldn’t have come back from their early set-backs at Fir Park.
If fans needed any more convincing, the Colombian proved he’s so much more than a goalscorer in North Lanarkshire.
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Going forward, he’s becoming a real master of the half-turn. Backing into defenders, he has an uncanny ability to turn them on their heels and get goal-side. This is leading to a plethora of real opportunities for Rangers, and they’re all being earned through Morelos’ strength and hold-up.
As well as that, the timing of the 21-year-old’s runs is also improving. Fans will have remembered the countless occasions in which Morelos was flagged for offside last season. A large section of fans and pundits felt he needed to learn the offside rule before he could be a top striker.
Well, it seems as though Morelos has listened as he continues to torment Premiership defenders with his runs.
Decision-making still lacking
There’s no debating that improvement could still be made with his decision-making. Despite often getting away down the left flank, when he cuts in he always seems to want to just strike at goal. This is a great attitude to have, but it can be at the expense of better options. For Morelos, this is often still the case.
However, he proved yesterday afternoon that his footballing intelligence is growing rapidly. He already looks a huge improvement on the young forward that blew hot and cold in the division last season.
According to Soccerbase, Morelos already has two assists to his name this season. Compare that to the eight he totalled as a whole last term, and it looks like he’s going to fly past that.
It’ll now be interesting to see how this develops alongside Kyle Lafferty. It could be the case that the arrival of the former Hearts man helps to mentor the Colombian forward. However, going forward they could prove to be a lethal strike-force if on their game.
Lafferty’s performance at Fir Park doesn’t need going over once again. He was terrific, and will provide a terrific partner with Morelos should Gerrard decide to go with two up top.
However, yesterday, Morelos proved what he was all about. Showing more to his game than just goals recently, Rangers fans can start to get really excited about what this young talent could transform into.