Marco Rose names Alfredo Morelos as major Rangers threat for Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund boss Marco Rose has namechecked Alfredo Morelos as Rangers’ biggest threat ahead of their Europa League clash this week.
The Bears travel to Dortmund for the first leg of their Europa League knockout clash on Thursday, with both teams in hot and cold form in recent weeks.
Rangers picked up a 3-0 win with a heavily rotated team in the cup at the weekend while Dortmund earned a 3-0 win in the Bundesliga away at Union Berlin.
After that game manager, Rose spoke briefly [via Daily Record] about the Rangers tie, name-dropping Morelos as a danger man upfront.
“Preparation for Rangers is already going on in the background,” he said. “They play 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3, they attack with speed down the left wing with Ryan Kent.
“And they have a little striker upfront, Alfredo Morelos, who works hard, fights and knows where the goal is.
“In general, they are a force at home, Ibrox is known for the atmosphere. We’re at home first and we know it will be an intense game, so we want to make our mark in the first leg.
“The Europa League is a new competition for us and a lot of our players have never played in it. Rangers are a really good team who play good football.”
Clinical
If Rangers are to have a chance in this tie, they will need to make sure they’re as clinical as possible in front of goal and that starts with Morelos.
The Colombian has found the net 11 times in his last 15 games this season, with his form taking a huge upturn following the arrival of Giovanni van Bronckhorst in November.
His ability to run in behind, hold the ball up with his back to goal and link with the midfield will be key to any success Rangers have but Dortmund are clearly doing their homework.
Man for man there aren’t many Rangers players who would get into the Dortmund side so they will need to be at their best tactically and need a bit of luck too.
That means Morelos will need to be at his absolute peak for the game, and Dortmund clearly already knows what that could mean for them if he is.
In other Rangers news, Ibrox View: Rangers should trust their instinct over GvB signing despite Feb stinker