Alfredo Morelos: Rangers striker ‘up there’ as player of Europa League - (2022)

Updated: 22/05/2022
[ad_1]
Alfredo Morelos is “up there” as the player of the Europa League so far after firing Rangers into the last 32, says manager Steven Gerrard.
The Colombian rallied from his penalty miss in Sunday's League Cup final loss to Celtic by netting the opener in the 1-1 draw with Young Boys at Ibrox.
It was Morelos' 14th European goal of the campaign and he finished the group stage as top scorer with six.
“I had no doubt he was going to bounce back,” Gerrard said.
“I'm not surprised. People asked me about Alfredo yesterday, how he would be affected. He's a born goalscorer. He's a human being, some days he won't be able to be the hero.
“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.
“He's got to be up there as player of the tournament so far. He's scored big goals against top opposition.”
Gerrard says his side were written off when the draw was made and praised their “incredible achievement” in advancing to post-Christmas European football for the first time in eight years.
They could have been out of sight after a convincing first-half display against Young Boys, with Morelos netting for the fifth successive group game to take his tally to 26 goals in 32 appearances across all competitions this season.
However, the Swiss champions finished strongly, forcing an equaliser through a late Borna Barisic own goal. That knocked Rangers – who had Ryan Jack red-carded in injury time – off the top of Group G but they clung on to progress as runners-up.
“I can't criticise the boys,” Gerrard said. “There's not a high level of European experience in the group. It's a fantastic feeling, especially after the last few days. It's been tough to pick ourselves up.
“No one gave us a chance. I sat in the canteen with the players and squad when the draw was made. Porto came out. A Champions League team. They'll beat Rangers. Feyenoord came out, people said what a group this is. No chance for Rangers.
“This is an incredible achievement when you think about where we were in July qualifying in Gibraltar. It was a tough group. To get out this group whatever way we did it is fantastic.”
Source link
Relevant news

Understanding the Half time Full time Bet and How to use it
What is a Half time Full time Bet? A half time full time bet is…

Euro 2020 Top Assisters
Welcome to the Euro 2020 Top Assisters page. See the latest top assists stats by…

Euro 2020 Team Form
Welcome to the Euro 2020 Team Form page. See the latest form stats for every…

Euro 2020 Live Games & Scores
Welcome to the Euro 2020 Live Games page. See every live game being played right…

Euro 2020 Table Groups A – F
Welcome to the Euro 2020 Table Groups A - F page. See every teams standings…

Euro 2020 Results
Welcome to the complete Euro 2020 Results page. See every football result as it happens…
Login
Register