Alfredo Morelos was 'malfunctioning quite spectacularly' in front of goal as Rangers were held to a draw by Hearts on Saturday, in the words of Daily Record columnist Keith Jackson.

The lowdown

The Gers took the lead in the 40th minute courtesy of John Lundstram but were denied victory at Ibrox by Craig Halkett's 90th-minute strike.

They missed the chance to go three points of the Edinburgh outfit at the top of the table, while Dundee United and Celtic closed in after winning their matches.

Rangers dominated the game with 27 shots to their opponents' five, but couldn't make it count. Morelos had seven shots during the game, three more than any of his team-mates, but got none of them on target.

He was guilty of missing what Jackson's colleague Mark Pirie called a 'tap-in' a matter of minutes before Hearts grabbed their equaliser.

The latest

Writing in his Daily Record column, Jackson disparagingly claimed that Morelos cost Steven Gerrard's side 'breathing space' at the top of the Premiership table by swapping his 'shooting boots' for a pair of 'clown shoes' on Saturday.

However, he does acknowledge that Morelos' finishing struggles alone don't 'paper over the raft of conundrums with which Gerrard continues to grapple' at Ibrox.

The verdict

Rangers may still be leading the way, but their record of 15 goals in nine matches doesn't look particularly great. Celtic have netted 21, for instance, while fifth-placed Hibs have only bagged one fewer (Sky Sports).

Morelos, who has scored five goals in 15 appearances so far this season, is one of the players from whom Gerrard will need more as he looks to keep the Gers on top throughout the campaign. Jackson's 'clown shoes' comment may have been melodramatic, but his point about the Colombian being well below his best is not without justification given his goalscoring hauls in previous years.

In other news, some Gers fans slammed this player over the weekend.