“That goal – 10” – Rangers player ratings on an astonishing night at Ibrox

On an extraordinary night in Govan, Rangers picked up an incredible 3 points and a clean sheet against a Porto side fancied to win the entire tournament. Ibrox Noise brings you our ratings for the performers on the night.

McGregor:

It’s odd to say this, but McGregor had next-to-nothing to do apart from that world-class save, which was redundant anyway. Surprisingly quiet night for the keeper apart from a few routine catches and kicks. 6

Tavernier:

Had a struggle in the first half, and his defending was rather poor, but he never stopped plugging away and kept providing the balance on the right – picked up after the first goal and got a little more freedom. Crossing was abundant but not always of the highest quality. 6

Goldson:

Actually a bit better this match from Goldson – ‘goal line’ clearance (it wasn’t going in), a few excellent long balls forward, clearances, and competed in the air, even if he often came off second best. Made McGregor work too hard with one poor backpass. 6

Helander:

A quiet one from Helander, spent most of his time looking for someone to pass to – no major defensive events really from the Swede apart from the occasional club foot out. 6

Barisic:

Very sticky start from the Croat – lunged to concede a bad foul early on, then again for a yellow card, and a few misplaced passes. Appeared to struggle initially with both Telles and Corona – but he grew notably into the match and even though his crossing was non-existent, he got tighter at the back and restricted Porto’s right channel to nearly nothing. 7

Davis:

What an extraordinarily off-first half it was from him – few passes, hardly involved, and even a few cheap fouls. But like so many others, seemed to settle in the second half and didn’t look back after Morelos’ opener. A little fortunate with his goal but players of his class make their own luck. 7

Kamara:

Worked so so hard all night and certainly saved a sure goal which may have altered the course of the match, Kamara seems to be a stick-on for the European nights and his work in pressing opponents in the middle doesn’t go unnoticed. Not everything worked for him, but his ethic was undeniable. 7

Jack:

Uncharacteristically quiet night for Jack in the first half in an attacking sense – didn’t quite influence things in the middle like he can. But he covered Tavernier and others repeatedly to create that extra layer of defence (which often goes unnoticed) and was a major reason Porto barely had a major sniff all night. He was also a huge part of Morelos’ goal and grew attack-wise in the second. 8

Kent:

Energetic, lively, and his pace is devastating along with his skill, but he was unable to find the killer ball or shot his work merited. He is still very much getting up to speed, so we’re not expecting the world of him but even at this 60% capacity he’s deadly and defenders struggle with him. 7

Barker:

He put a lot in but he’s short on quality at this level and it showed. Didn’t shy from a thing, ran his heart out but the final ball was missing and he was no miss when he was hooked. 6

Morelos:

Well, ‘that’ goal and a huge part of Davis’ goal, Morelos might not have had the all-round stellar match that he has had before but as the commentators said he’s gold dust and his contributions are just massive. He is a complete pain for defenders and they hate him. 9

Subs:

Arfield:

A fantastic cameo – did a lot more than Barker and steadied Rangers massively. Made a mockery of some who think he’s not good enough and doesn’t do enough. The most underrated player Rangers have. 7

Aribo:

About as good as Arfield’s appearance, Aribo showed maturity, class, and a technical touch of quality at the right time. Really did a lot of damage and helped the cause in his 10 minutes or so. 7

Manager:

Steven Gerrard surprised us all with the selection of Barker and the omission of Katic on a night Porto were expected to be very physical, and until Morelos’ moment of genius, it looked like Stevie might just regret things as the visitors were much the better side – the home manager didn’t respond to the 4-2-3-1 at all nor did he change things at half time. Thing is, despite the ace up their sleeve, Porto just didn’t look particularly dangerous and McGregor was a pretty unworked man. Once Morelos made it one though Gerrard’s tactics started to work and there was only one winner. The manager took a slight gamble but it’s one that worked perfectly tonight. 8