Alfredo Morelos in numbers – is he back?
Do Rangers need him or not?
Just when Rangers fans regaled (including ourselves) in a big contribution from Alfredo Morelos at the weekend v St Mirren (an assist and two goals), the Colombian reverted to type against St Johnstone with another modest-at-best display and the facts and stats make for some eye-opening reading.
Bear in mind, he did look fairly hard-working, and there was even a smile or two, but the proof of the pudding is in what he actually did on the pitch, and the answer isn’t great.
No one in Rangers’ team (including McGregor) passed the ball less than Morelos, save for Ryan Kent who didn’t have the best match of his life either. Just 27 passes compared with Glen Kamara who managed 125.
Furthermore, this was backed up by how little of the ball Morelos got, with just 36 touches. No one in Rangers’ team touched it less than this.
But the worst part was the atrocious passing in itself – by far the lowest passing accuracy at barely 74%.
If anyone thought Morelos is ‘back’, they need to think again. He managed just two shots, only one of which was on target, and wasn’t even on the ball enough to be fouled more than once.
While his end results of an assist and two goals v St Mirren looked good on paper, the first was an OG, and the next two he could barely miss.
Those three contributions have bought him some slack from fans, but the reality is nothing has changed. He remains unfocused and wants his move.