Doug Ward

Sun 6 February 2022 17:48, UK

Rangers bounced back from their Old Firm defeat in style as they hammered third-placed Hearts 5-0 at Ibrox on Sunday.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst rung four changes to his starting line-up and one of them was to bring the now-available Alfredo Morelos back in after his spell away with Colombia.

After just 11 minutes, Morelos was on the scoresheet, doubling his tally just after the hour mark.

Morelos then turned provider to assist a rare Glen Kamara goal before Scott Arfield and Fashion Sakala rounded off a superb win for the Light Blues to keep themselves within touching distance of Celtic in the race for the Premiership title.

Here, Ibrox News has rated the players out of 10 for their performances against the Jam Tarts:

Allan McGregor – 5

McGregor didn’t really have anything to do due to Hearts’ poor attacking play but the 40-year-old goalkeeper did have one or two dodgy moments with the ball at his feet.

James Tavernier – 5

There wasn’t anything special from Tavernier with the right-back not as adventurous on the wing as he usually is.

Connor Goldson – 5

Goldson made a great challenge to stop a Hearts attack in the first half after Tavernier drifted out of position. He wasn’t called on too much but his passing was a concern at times.

Leon Balogun – 7

Balogun was unfortunate to get booked but it was great to have the Nigerian centre-back back in the side. He added an air of composure and calmness and made several crucial interventions.

Calvin Bassey – 4

We’re sorry, but the left-back slot seems to be cursed at the moment. Bassey failed to convince us both defensively and going forward as numerous attacks stopped dead when the 22-year-old got on the ball. At the back, a poor headed backpass fell short and should’ve been scored by Cammy Devlin. Not good enough.

Ryan Jack – 8

Jack is an absolutely class act and it was so great seeing him back in the starting line-up and back to controlling the midfield in the Scottish Premiership. Jack can go from strength to strength now and will hopefully take us back to the top of the league.

John Lundstram – 8

All eyes were on Lundstram at Ibrox on Sunday with many praying the ex-Sheffield United ace would finally deliver. And he did. It was arguably the midfielder’s best performance since joining the Gers in the summer and we hope this form continues.

Joe Aribo – 7

Aribo wasn’t as busy as he usually is because normally, he’s having to lift the entire team with his attacking play. Instead, against Hearts, the Nigeria attacker was just one of many cogs in what was a superb attacking performance.

Scott Arfield – 8

We keep saying this but how good has Arfield been since van Bronckhorst was hired as our manager? If there’s anyone who’s improved more than Arfield since Steven Gerrard left, we’d love to know. Properly deserved his goal just before he was substituted off.

Ryan Kent – 9

After his absolute stinker against Celtic, it was superb to see Kent back to his best and wreaking havoc on Scottish Premiership defences. Kent’s boots had superglue on them, because that’s the only we can explain how good his ball control was. He got three assists and was deserving of a goal of his own. Great performance by the English winger.

Alfredo Morelos – 10 (Man of the match)

How do you give Morelos anything but a 10/10 for that performance? Two stunning goals (it would have been three if it wasn’t for a good save by Craig Gordon) and an assist for Kamara’s goal was a statement made by El Bufalo. He’s back. And Celtic need to watch out.

Substitutes:

Glen Kamara (on for Jack, 68′) – 7

Aaron Ramsey (on for Arfield, 76′) – 6

Fashion Sakala (on for Aribo, 76′) – 7

Amad Diallo (on for Kent, 83′) – 5

Steven Davis (on for Lundstram, 83′) – 6

In other Rangers news, Aston Villa’s John McGinn lost his mind over what happened with the Gers this week.