ANALYSIS: Alfredo Morelos - was Aberdeen the Rangers striker's last game?

All eyes were on Alfredo Morelos at Aberdeen – was it his last game for Rangers with West Brom and Lille keen to sign the Colombian striker? Here's three takeaways from the frontman’s performance at Pittodrie.

ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 01: Alfredo Morelos of Rangers FC shoots during the Ladbrokes Premiership match between Aberdeen and Rangers at Pittodrie Stadium on August 01, 2020 in Aberdeen, Scotland. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/Pool via Getty Images)

Diamond Geezer

Transfer speculation didn’t affect Steven Gerrard including the Colombian to lead the line at Pittodrie – a venue where he was red-carded on the opening day of season 2018-19.

And his inclusion was for good reason. As well as Morelos’ scoring record, and goal threat, his link-up play in the Rangers attack was key.

ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 01: Alfredo Morelos of Rangers FC arrives at the stadium prior to the Ladbrokes Premiership match between Aberdeen and Rangers at Pittodrie Stadium on August 01, 2020 in Aberdeen, Scotland. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/Pool via Getty Images)

The Colombian was the focal point of the attack, backed by Ianis Hagi, Ryan Kent and Joe Aribo.

The foursome often formed a diamond, initially with Aribo at the base and Morelos at the tip, but they were all equally interchangeable and proved difficult to pick up by the Dons’ defence, allowing space and a quick circulation of the ball that Rangers really exploited in the first half, albeit they couldn’t find the net more than once.

Any potential replacement for the Colombian will have to develop that attacking understanding quickly, and that willingness to drop back as Morelos often did, to create space for others. See the winning goal for Ryan Kent as a perfect example of his retreat creating room for manouevres.

Hagi looked capable of stepping into the Morelos void when the frontman was deeper and the movement was slick, and hard for the defence to pick.

ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 01: Ryan Kent of Rangers FC celebrates with Alfredo Morelos and team mates after scoring his team's first goal during the Ladbrokes Premiership match between Aberdeen and Rangers at Pittodrie Stadium on August 01, 2020 in Aberdeen, Scotland. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/Pool via Getty Images)

Dropping in, not out

And speaking of Morelos’ retreat to muck in in the middle of the park, if questions were asked about his reaction to being substituted after the recent friendly win over Coventry City, he answered those detracting from his showing at Ibrox.

As part of that diamond attack, the Colombian was more than prepared to drop in to help the midfield with his white-shirted colleagues. The work-rate was there, even if the sharpness, and the usual goals, were not.

Was he disinterested, his mind in Ligue 1 or the English Premier League, as a player heading out the door can often be accused of being? Not on this performance.

Was he putting himself about or avoiding an injury jeopardising a future deal? Again no.

The Colombian may not have looked quite himself but after a lengthy lay-off he wasn’t the only one among the two sides lacking that little edge after more than 143 days out of competitive action.

More will come, but there was no lack of application from the forward, only he was well marshalled by Andrew Considine and Scott McKenna, and as previously mentioned, he dropped deep further away from the penalty box where he can do so much damage in order to facilitate the team link play which, at times in the first half, was fluid and free-flowing, especially between the front four. And that’s partly due to his unselfish play.

Signing off?

Was that his last performance in a Rangers shirt?

His manager Steven Gerrard was short in his post-match comments on the Colombian’s performance.

Ally McCoist, providing colour commentary on Sky Sports, said he didn’t think the striker was particularly good on the day, but Gerrard disagreed, cutting across Luke Shanley’s question on the forward’s future.

"I thought he was brilliant today wasn’t he? Fantastic.

"He was superb, cheers,” said the Rangers manager as he moved to end the television interview without comment on the Colombian’s future.

If it was to be Morelos’ final appearance he will be disappointed not to have left with a goal, and, after a quiet afternoon in front of goal as McCoist observed, he did try to grab a goal late on.

He swung at two half-chances with 12 minutes to play as the match began to run out of time. There were perhaps other options open but was he showing a typical striker’s eye and confidence in having a go himself, or was he trying to sign off with a goal? Perhaps the latter but a victory at Pittodrie is not a bad way to go, and not a bad parting gift for the Rangers support, if indeed Morelos does leave – bear in mind the Rangers boss has stressed the club are some way off selling the striker, based on OSC Lille’s initial bid, described as “nowhere near” his valuation when discussed during the week.

Rangers have two games in quick succession next, on Thursday in Germany against Bayer Leverkusen and on Sunday against St Mirren.

The question is, will they head into the games with Morelos in attack?