Ryan Darby

Mon 11 January 2021 16:30, UK

When Alfredo Morelos fluffed his lines in the opening minutes of Rangers’ 2-1 win against Aberdeen, many supporters may have been fearing the worst.

‘El Bufalo’ was presented with a golden opportunity to open the scoring inside the first 10 minutes when a searching James Tavernier ball made its way in behind the Aberdeen defence, but a tame Morelos shot did not come anywhere near close to troubling Joe Lewis.

However, the Colombian soon put that behind him and came alive in a performance that looked like the striker was back to his very best.

Morelos got himself on the scoresheet twice with two very well-taken goals and it was a performance that deserved recognition.

His movement caused the Aberdeen backline all sorts of problems and despite lining up in a back three, Derek McInnes’ men could not get near him.

According to Wyscout, he averaged more touches in the penalty area (7) against Aberdeen than he has done this season per 90 minutes in the Premiership.

He also attempted more dribbles and competed for nearly twice as many offensive duels (15) than his seasonal average.

There was also a remarkable improvement in his ability on the ball, as he completed 100 per cent of his passes into the final third and into the penalty area.

Meanwhile, a general pass accuracy rate of 89 per cent is a huge increase when compared to his average this season, which is just 80 per cent.

It was smart pieces of movement like the one way we see below that highlighted how dangerous Morelos can be when he is at his very best.

Seconds before he receives the pass from Glen Kamara, he looks across and makes a quick check on Joe Aribo’s position before playing a brilliant give and go pass that eventually results in him winning the penalty.

The striker appeared to relish playing against three defenders, as it allowed him to constantly be on the move and it was that movement that helped bring the likes of Aribo, Ianis Hagi and Ryan Kent into the game.

Below, we see an example of Morelos just dropping off the Aberdeen defence and it leaves Ash Taylor (circled) caught in two minds about just how far to follow him.

The Dons defender has arguably already come too far at this point, as he allows room for Glen Kamara and Aribo to move beyond the Rangers striker.

What was noticeable about Morelos’ movement in and around the penalty box was the way he constantly looked to evade the Aberdeen defenders.

While on face value it may sound simple, but the Colombian would often drift into deeper positions in the penalty area or just merely standoff his opposing defender, allowing them to be caught off guard by the deep runs of Kent or Hagi.

It was particularly noticeable during the build-up to Rangers’ second goal. Ash Taylor appears to have Morelos under control, so the Colombian remains relatively stationary but allows Kent to run beyond him and Taylor has no choice but to follow the winger.

Without doing much at all, Morelos’ ability to read the situation allowed to him to work some space and find a shooting opportunity that simply would not have presented itself if Taylor remained so tight to him.

Having only scored six times this season, Morelos has not exactly been firing on all cylinders yet.

However, if he can continue to put in mature performances like the one we witnessed against Aberdeen, the goals will no doubt continue to flow as he leads Rangers’ charge for the Premiership title during the second half of the campaign.

In other Rangers news, ‘Joy to watch’ – These Gers fans were wowed by ‘Outstanding’ ace in win v Aberdeen