Rangers battle between James Tavernier and Alfredo Morelos set to go to the wire

Rangers may have secured the Scottish Premiership crown almost eight weeks ago but there is still one title up for grabs at the Ibrox club.
Rangers captain James Tavernier celebrating one of the 18 goals he has scored for the Ibrox club so far this season. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)Rangers captain James Tavernier celebrating one of the 18 goals he has scored for the Ibrox club so far this season. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)
Rangers captain James Tavernier celebrating one of the 18 goals he has scored for the Ibrox club so far this season. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

The race to finish as the leading scorer in this momentous season for Steven Gerrard’s squad is still too close to call with just three fixtures now left to fulfil.

James Tavernier took his tally for the campaign to 18 when he put Rangers ahead in their dramatic Scottish Cup quarter-final defeat at home to St Johnstone last Sunday, leaving him two goals ahead of Alfredo Morelos in the top scorers’ chart.

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It was club captain Tavernier’s first goal since his stunning free-kick in the 2-1 win over Dundee United at Tannadice in December which came during a remarkably prolific spell from the attacking right-back.

Alfredo Morelos has scored 16 times for Rangers so far in a season when goals have been more widely spread throughout the Ibrox club's squad. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)Alfredo Morelos has scored 16 times for Rangers so far in a season when goals have been more widely spread throughout the Ibrox club's squad. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)
Alfredo Morelos has scored 16 times for Rangers so far in a season when goals have been more widely spread throughout the Ibrox club's squad. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

From August until that afternoon on Tayside, Tavernier scored 17 goals in 22 appearances - nine of them from the penalty spot - and looked odds-on to be Rangers’ leading marksman this season.

But a nine-week absence due to the knee injury he suffered in the Europa League tie against Royal Antwerp in Belgium in February allowed Morelos to close in on him.

The Colombian international striker made a subdued start to the campaign in front of goal, taking until January to reach double figures. A burst of six goals in nine games followed, culminating in his most recent strike, the equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Celtic Park on March 21 which broke his duck in the Old Firm fixture.

Since joining Rangers from HJK Helsinki in the summer of 2017, Morelos has finished top scorer in each of his seasons with the club. He shared the honour on 18 goals with Josh Windass in 2017-18 but finished well clear in the subsequent two campaigns with tallies of 30 and 29 goals respectively.

There remains a real kudos to any player who is top scorer for either Rangers or Celtic, especially in a title-winning season.

So while the team ethos instilled by manager Gerrard has been crucial in their emphatic Premiership triumph over the past nine months, there is significant personal incentive for Tavernier and Morelos to try and win the Sam English Bowl - named after the club’s prolific Irish striker of the 1930s - which Rangers present to their top scorer in all competitions each year.

In the league alone, the race is even tighter. Tavernier and Morelos have both scored 11 Premiership goals, Kemar Roofe has 10 and Ryan Kent is also in the frame with nine.

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For Morelos, there is also the sub-plot of whether he is approaching the end of his time with Rangers. Transfer speculation will inevitably surround the 24-year-old yet again this summer. Will Rangers cash in on one of their biggest assets or will he be persuaded to stick around for a shot at Champions League football?

Morelos is just seven goals away from hitting the century mark for Rangers. It would be a tall order to achieve that in the next three games against Celtic at Ibrox on Sunday, away to Livingston on May 12 and at home to Aberdeen three days later when Rangers receive the Premiership trophy.

But as they try to complete an unbeaten league campaign, the battle to be top scorer provides an intriguing side issue.

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