Alfredo Morelos may be 'the devil's striker' - but in Europe 50 game 'El Bufalo' is heaven sent for Rangers

Alfredo Morelos, for all his skills and strengths, possesses demons.

For Rangers supporters, though, El Bufalo has been nothing short of a gift from God since arriving in Scotland nearly four years ago.

The Colombian’s performances in the Europa League especially have been heaven sent for them during that time.

There were high hopes Morelos could help the Ibrox club ascend to a higher level than ever before going into the first leg of this last 16 double header in the Eden Arena.

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He had been involved in no fewer than eight of the Glasgow outfit’s goals in their 9-5 aggregate win over Royal Antwerp - he was off the park when the other one was netted - in the last round after all.

A goal or two, the odd assist and a draw or even a victory would have been a nice way for the 24-year-old to mark his 50th match in a UEFA tournament.

Morelos made six appearances for HJK – the Finish outfit he was signed from for just £1m in 2017 – and the game last night was his 44th for Rangers in continental competition.      

It was always going to be a hellish difficult evening for the visitors; their opponents have beaten Bordeaux, Sevilla, Zenit St Petersburg, Bayer Leverkusen and Nice in Europe in the past few seasons.

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They also defeated the Leicester City side that former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has led to third place in the Premier League this term after a 2-0 win at the King Power Stadium. 

Typically, Rangers’ all-time record European scorer, playing up front by himself in Steven Gerrard’s usual 4-3-3 formation, rose to the occasion magnificently.

Under Gerrard, Morelos has developed into far more than just a predator. He still weighs in with a fair few and went into this outing in a rich vein of form. He had notched five in six matches. But he offers far more than just a cutting edge in the final third now.

This match needed the forward to work hard, drop deep and win the ball and he didn’t disappoint. He showed great composure and maturity in the face of some robust challenges from the Slavia defenders too.  

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The South American received limited service from his team mates, who struggled to perform at their usual high standard early on in their first outing since their Scottish title win, but his influence still proved vital. 

Morelos got an early taste of the treatment he was going to receive when David Zima barged him over on the halfway line early on. He was visibly upset that Romanian match official Ovidiu Hategan failed to take action. But he kept his cool. 

He showed good striker’s instincts when Zima played a slack pass to Ondrej Kolar and was unlucky not to cancel out Nicolae Stanciu’s early opener. But he was involved in the equaliser.

He was brought down by that man Zima again in the middle of the home team’s half and won his side a free-kick. Borna Barisic whipped a delivery in, Connor Goldson got on the end of it, Ianis Hagi cut it back and Filip Helander tapped in from a few yards out.

The leveller came against the run of play. But it seemed to lift the Premiership winners. They were far better after half-time and could have taken the lead if they had converted one of the opportunities they created. Connor Goldson, Joe Aribo and Ryan Kent were all found wanting. If the ball had fallen to Morelos it may have been a different story.

Yet, Alfredo Morelos’s experience in Europe still made a difference. When Zima scythed him down in the second-half he picked up a booking from Hategan which will rule him out of the return leg in Govan. That could be crucial.

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But so, of course, could the man who leads the line for the home team. He has, as was evident again last night, grown into an outstanding performer in the Europa League. His manager suspects it may be because he wants to put himself in the shop window. Clubs far and wide will certainly be cueing up to bid for him in the summer. It will take a sizeable fee to secure his services.