Steven Gerrard believes Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos can learn from his former Liverpool teammate Luis Suarez, as reported by The Scottish Sun.
Morelos has garnered a reputation for being something of a hothead in Scottish football, something that Rangers fans have been fighting back against all season.
Lazy punditry and bad officiating have combined to paint a picture that the Colombian is out of control on the football pitch, when it simply isn’t the case at all.
He does have an aggressive style, there’s no doubt about that, but Gerrard has again defended him in the build up to tomorrow’s derby away to Celtic, comparing him to a former infamous Liverpool star.
As quoted by The Scottish Sun, the Ibrox boss said:
We had a very similar situation with Luis Suarez. Now, I’m not comparing them as players or in terms of ability. But it was the exact same thing with Luis, tons and tons of questions about him.
They’d ask, ‘What’s Suarez like?’ They were expecting you to say ‘he’s an absolute lunatic’ but it’s not true.
Luis was first into training, he did his pre-work, he trained the best, he trained the hardest, he had the quickest lunch ever and then home to his family. He just wanted to be with his family. He was a family man, it was all about his wife and kids.
Now and again he got it wrong and got it badly wrong. Where is he now? He’s probably better. He still plays with fire but has he improved, has he settled down with experience? Of course he has. And that’s got to be Alfredo’s target because he’s a top, top footballer.
We have all loved and admired Alfredo this season, when he gets it right he’s been brilliant to watch. The players love playing with him, I love coaching him and the fans love watching him.
The spotlight will likely be on Morelos again during tomorrow’s Old Firm derby at Celtic Park, with referee Bobby Madden unlikely to give him much leeway when battling the Hoops defence.
With 29 goals this season, there is no doubt he is our greatest attacking threat, but he has rarely troubled our city rivals and we’ll need him at his best if we’re to get anything from the match.
Many fans have already conceded the title this season, but if we can surprise pundits and pick up a win tomorrow, wouldn’t we find ourselves right back in the race?
Do you think Alfredo Morelos will shine tomorrow? Have your say below…