Former Scottish Premiership striker Noel Whelan feels that Rangers star Alfredo Morelos has a mental barrier to overcome in today’s derby clash.
The Colombian has been in exceptional scoring form throughout the season, finding the net 28 times already in the current campaign.
However, he has never scored against Celtic during his time in Glasgow and Whelan thinks that the 23-year-old’s struggles against the Hoops could play on his mind at Parkhead this afternoon.
He told Football Insider: “I played in games against teams that you just can’t do anything right and can’t score goals against them.
“It’s very frustrating, it does stick in your mind, it then becomes a mental handicap because it’s such a big game, it’s the game of the season when you play against Celtic.
“It’s the Old Firm, it’s Glasgow, they’re the games you want to be scoring in. I know he’s scoring against your Kilmarnocks and, no disrespect, I would expect a player of his quality to be doing that week in, week out.
“When it comes to these games, this is where it matters. This is where titles are decided and big players turn up. Now he will be desperate to turn it around, Celtic will know he’s a danger man.
“They won’t be taking it for granted he’s never scored against them. He’ll need to be marked very, very closely.”
Whelan is justified in alluding to Morelos’ poor record against the Premiership leaders potentially playing on his mind, and not just in terms of goalscoring either.
The Colombian has played against Celtic 11 times since joining Rangers in 2017 but is still awaiting his first goal against the Hoops. Having started in eight of those 11 games, it’s not as if he has been starved of opportunities to breach the Celtic rearguard. [via TransferMarkt]
Additionally, he has been on the end of eight Glasgow derby defeats, with games against the Light Blues’ crosstown rivals often ending in disappointment on a team level as well as a personal one for Morelos.
The 23-year-old did manage to make headlines in two previous derbies this year, but for the wrong reasons on both occasions.
Nine months ago, he was sent off after half an hour for striking Scott Brown in the head in a 2-1 loss at Parkhead (as per BBC), where he and his team will return today for the first time since that fiery afternoon.
More recently, he was denied from the penalty spot in the Betfred Cup final defeat earlier this month, his 64th-minute spot kick saved by Fraser Forster as the ‘Gers lost 1-0. [via Sky Sports]
Morelos has the positive of going into today’s clash off the back of scoring the winner against Kilmarnock on Boxing Day, but as Whelan has said, the millstone of not scoring against Celtic could continue to weigh heavily on the Colombian’s mind until such time that he finally ticks that particular box off his to-do list.
Rangers fans, what do you make of Whelan’s concerns about Morelos in derby games? Share your views in the comments section below!
