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Glasgow Rangers sealed their place in the knockout stages of the Europa League with a thrilling 3-1 win over Standard Liege at Ibrox on Thursday night.

Standard Liege took the lead twice but Steven Gerrard’s side bounced back on both occasions before Scott Arfield fired home to secure the victory.

Connor Goldson and James Tavernier got themselves on the scoresheet with the club captain scoring his 15th goal of the season from the penalty spot.

Despite the result, several first-team regular starters were out of sorts, none more so than star striker Alfredo Morelos, who had been linked with an exit in the summer. Rangers value their talisman in the £20m region.

SofaScore graded the 24-year-old as one of the worst players on the pitch with a lowly 6.4 rating as only Kemar Roofe and Allan McGregor received lower ratings – the misfiring ace lost possession 14 times, only won three ground duels from nine attempts, took just one shot on target and made a pathetic 64% of his 22 passes.

Morelos only took 34 touches of the ball, which was even fewer than Ryan Kent managed, and wasn’t able to do an awful lot with it, as his end product was once again nowhere to be seen.

He received a similar rating from GlasgowLive, who claimed ‘he worked hard and tried his best but struggled in the first half in particular’, whilst The Daily Record were equally scathing in their assessment, saying he ‘got next to nothing out of the Liege defence and wasn’t bringing his mates into play either.”

Morelos, who earns wages worth £33,000-per-week, which makes him one of the club’s top earners, even failed to register a single key pass, so it’s no wonder he was replaced by Joe Aribo with Roofe moving into a more central role.

Not only was he erratic, but he was largely anonymous as well with Kent and Roofe completing at least one successful dribble attempt themselves.

There’s no doubt he should be nervously looking over his shoulder with Roofe and wily veteran Jermain Defoe both being in red-hot form in recent weeks and he could find himself on the chopping block before the trip to Ross County at the weekend.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers must get James Tavernier to sign new deal amid links abroad…

Spurs will be hoping that they can continue their impressive run of form as they take on league heavyweights Manchester City as domestic football returns.

Jose Mourinho’s side are unbeaten in their last seven games and have banked impressive results including their shock 6-1 win over Manchester United. Despite the fact the team has suffered a few injury blows, including losing Tanguy Ndombele to a foot injury, Spurs will be favourites going into the match based purely on form alone.

Whilst Ndombele being out will be a blow for Mourinho, it presents new signing Giovani Lo Celso with a perfect opportunity to show what he’s all about.

Tottenham signed the attacking midfielder from Real Betis over the summer on a £27.2million deal worth £60,000 per week. His final season in Spain saw him rack up a handsome 16 goals and six assists, numbers he could may well replicate for Spurs, but is yet to really get going.

So far this term, Lo Celso has struggled to make his mark on the Premier League and has no goalscoring involvements in six appearances. However, all but one have come from off the bench, so today could be the day he puts pressure on his teammate and fights for his place in the starting lineup.

Man City are currently tenth in the table and are in desperate need of banking some points. They are currently six behind league leaders Leicester, which may not be a huge deficit but it doesn’t bode well for Pep Guardiola and his men to be on the border of the bottom half of the table. They will likely come out all guns blazing in order to strike first, which will give Spurs ample opportunity to catch them on the counter-attack.

With both Harry Kane and Son Heung-min both in impeccable form, Lo Celso could help pull the strings from the midfield and notch up an assist or two. He certainly has the backing of many, with teammate Harry Winks labelling him as an “exciting player”. Now he must repay their faith.

In other news, Mourinho should deploy this Spurs man as shock Bale replacement vs City…

Former Premier League defender Kenny Cunningham questioned Jurgen Klopp’s tactics which saw Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi withdrawn early from the action against FC Midtjylland on Tuesday night.

The Reds made hard work of their 2-0 victory against the Danish side as they maintained their 100% record in the Champions League. Diogo Jota scored the opening goal of the game, which was the club’s 10,000th goal in competitive action, before substitute Mohamed Salah sealed the deal with a late second half penalty.

Klopp opted to make several changes to his starting line-up, which featured both Minamino and Origi in attack. Both players received match ratings of 6.5 (Sofascore) and were brought off just after the hour mark.

Speaking to RTE Soccer, Cunningham was baffled by this decision and expressed his disappointment that they were both substituted at the time that they were and even made references about private planes, even though the game was taking place at Anfield.

With this in mind, some supporters were astonished by what they heard from Cunningham and were quick to make their feelings clear on social media after the match had ended.

Fans blast Kenny Cunningham’s views

In other news, Liverpool fans howl at Jurgen Klopp’s FC Midtjylland verdict on “awful” asset.

Many Liverpool fans have been reacting with delight to reports that Jurgen Klopp could start Diogo Jota against Aston Villa at Villa Park tomorrow.

The 23-year-old recently made the switch from Wolves to Anfield for a fee believed to be in the region of £41m and got off to a bright start with his new club after scoring during their 3-1 victory over Arsenal last Monday.

It looked unlikely that Jota would walk straight into Liverpool’s first team, due to the sensational form of Sadio Mane over the past five seasons. However, with the Senegal international being ruled out for their trip to the Midlands, there could be good news on the horizon for Jota.

Chris Bascombe of The Telegraph reported that the Portuguese winger could be in line for his first start for the Reds, giving him the opportunity to stake his claim in Klopp’s first XI.

While some supporters were understandably disappointed to be without Mane this weekend, they were equally as excited to see Jota possibly in the starting line-up. Here is a flavour of the Twitter reaction:

Should Diogo Jota make his first start tomorrow? Join the conversation by commenting below…

Liverpool have had an absolute barnstormer of a season, winning their first league title for 30 years.

It was no surprise that the Reds would go on to contend for the title this season given the agonising end to last year’s campaign, which saw them miss out on the title to rivals Manchester City by a single point, despite the success of the club winning the Champions League. It felt as though the wait for the title would go on – until now.

Their season was full of incredible moments, with Jurgen Klopp’s heavy metal football in full flow, leading the club to their best season on record with 99 points.

From going unbeaten at Anfield, to losing their first game of the season at Watford, the Reds’ season had it all – after 38 games, how well can you remember the biggest moments and all the stats that took Liverpool to the Premier League title?

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly interested in signing Bournemouth ace Aaron Ramsdale if the Cherries are relegated from the Premier League, according to the Daily Mail. 

Tottenham are keen to sign Ramsdale as a replacement for Hugo Lloris and, despite the Frenchman still being Jose Mourinho’s first-choice goalkeeper, recent reports have suggested that Spurs are searching for his eventual successor this summer.

It is understood that the Lilywhites are looking at the Cherries’ shot-stopper as a possible alternative.

Ramsdale has been one of the few success stories in a difficult season for Eddie Howe’s side, who find themselves embroiled in a relegation battle at the bottom of the Premier League which is set to be decided on the final day of the season.

The England under-21 international, who has won seven caps at that level, has played 36 games in the Premier League this season, keeping just five clean sheets and conceding 61 goals up until now.

Meanwhile, Lloris has arguably struggled for consistency so far, as he has managed only six clean sheets in the league this term. Surprisingly, he has received a higher SofaScore rating than the Bournemouth ‘keeper, although there isn’t much between them.

Even though these statistics don’t seem to make for pleasant reading, Ramsdale enjoyed one of his best performances against Southampton in the south coast derby last weekend.

While the Cherries came up short, as the Saints scored twice to claim the victory, the Englishman earned a high SofaScore rating for his displays between the sticks, saving four shots from inside the box, making six saves overall, saving one penalty and taking 40 touches of the ball.

The 22-year-old Cherries ‘keeper has shown glimpses of what he has to offer, although he is still a work in progress, as he needs to improve his long passing. However, he arguably has a long career ahead of him and it may be a risk worth taking, as he is currently valued at £11m by Transfermarkt.

As it stands, it is likely that 33-year-old Lloris will be phased out within the next couple of years and Ramsdale could turn out to be a shrewd signing, given his significant younger age and his fine showings for relegation-threatened Bournemouth.

Tottenham fans, do you think Daniel Levy should sign Ramsdale this summer? Let us know in the comments below!

Alan Hutton believes that it will take a £20m bid to convince Glasgow Rangers to sell Alfredo Morelos this summer.

The Colombia international has been continually linked with a move away from Ibrox over the past few weeks and months, with a number of clubs from Atletico Madrid to Everton all said to be interested in his services. It has even been reported that the 54-time Scottish champions expect to lose him this summer.

Speaking to Football Insider, former Gers player Hutton says that it will take a monumental bid to convince the club to move him on. He explained:

“It’s all about the money, we understand with the pandemic that we’re not sure how the transfer market’s going to work out but if they get a figure in the region of £20million-plus for him, I think definitely their (Rangers) heads will turn and they’ll look to cash in.

“Ultimately they can strengthen in other areas of the pitch so it will be difficult to turn down. I think he’s proved himself to a lot of people and it’s probably from the European stage.

“He’s done well in a lot of the games, he’s not been that prolific against Celtic and in some of the big SPL games but I think on the European stage he’s really come up trumps and scored a lot of goals.”

That would be a huge offer, and one that is unlikely to be forthcoming at this current time. The pandemic that has engulfed the planet will put restraints on what clubs can spend this summer, and despite scoring 77 goals in 137 matches and 29 last season alone, £20m for a player from the Scottish Premiership may be just too much of a risk.

Having said that, the Gers should not let him go cheaply, either – they could still get more than his £10.8m Transfermarkt value. It remains to be seen where Morelos ends up this summer.

Let us know what you think below!

Liverpool have been given a huge boost as the defending champions prepare for the 2020/21 Premier League season.Â

The African Cup of Nations (AFCON) has been postponed to 2022, as reported by James Pearce on Twitter, which means that the Reds will be able to keep many of their biggest stars for the entire campaign.

AFCON was set be held from early January 2021 in CameroonÂand the tournament could have caused major disruption to Jurgen Klopp’s plans, as Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah were ready to represent Senegal and Egypt respectively, while Naby Keita would have been away on international duty with Guinea.

However, the competition has been delayed for another year in response to the coronavirus crisis, which will allow Klopp to keep all of his key players ahead of a busy schedule.

Cameroon were set to host the event even though they were stripped of the 2019 tournament. They are now expected to resume their responsibilities when the games start in 2022.

Unsurprisingly, loads of LFC fans gushed over Pearce’s “brilliant news” with one supporter describing the announcement as “gargantuan” while another feels that it is “great” for the club.

Scroll down through some of the best reactions so far…

Liverpool fans, do you think the Reds will defend their Premier League title next year? Let us know in the comments below!

This article forms part of our Total Duds feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how bad a deal the club got.

There was a distinct Argentine flavour to Manchester City’s first Premier League triumph in 2011/12, with Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta and Carlos Tevez all playing their part in that memorable success. It was a recipe which the Etihad Stadium club sampled again in 2013 when they brought Martin Demichelis to England in a £4.2m deal from Atletico Madrid, who he had joined from Malaga only two  months previously.

The defender’s move to Manchester quickly reunited him with Manuel Pellegrini, who had been his manager at Malaga when they reached the Champions League quarter-finals a few months previously. His Premier League debut was delayed due to a knee ligament injury and, when it finally came, it wasn’t one to remember as City went down 2-1 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (as per TransferMarkt).

Demichelis would make up for lost time by becoming a regular presence in Pellegrini’s line-up over the course of the 2013/14 season but he wasn’t always the most assuring of figures in the Manchester City defence. He was sent off for a foul on Lionel Messi in a Champions League defeat to Barcelona which resulted in a penalty that his Argentina colleague dispatched to the net, although he publicly admitted his culpability afterwards and absolved referee Jonas Eriksson for the red card (as per Daily Mail).

Demichelis ended his first season in Manchester as a Premier League champion and League Cup winner, tasting success in the latter competition again in 2016 (as per TransferMarkt). He featured regularly in Pellegrini’s starting XI in his first two seasons at the club but found game-time much harder to come by once the 2015/16 campaign rolled around.

It was not a season which the Argentina defender would care to remember fondly. In March 2016, he was charged by the FA over breaches of betting rules and fined just over £22,000 as a result. Around that time, he also endured a miserable outing in a derby defeat at home to Manchester United, when he was given the runaround by a teenage Marcus Rashford. Demichelis prompted a melee when he hauled the England youngster to the ground, having earlier been guilty of the mistake which led to Rashford’s winning goal, and another error early in the second half saw him withdrawn by Pellegrini – a substitution which drew ironic cheers from some home fans.

Speaking on radio punditry duty, Robbie Savage described it as “the worst performance by a centre-half I have ever seen” [via Daily Express], while a user on the Xtratime.org forum duly began a discussion thread called “Is Martin Gaston Demichelis the worst footballer in the world?”

The Argentina defender was released from Manchester City in June 2016 and, despite winning three trophies in his time at the club, his time in England was scarred by some truly galling defensive displays and his inclusion in polls about the worst player in the Premier League. While fellow countrymen Aguero and Zabaleta would go on to be regarded as Etihad Stadium royalty, Demichelis fell far short of such standards.

Man City fans, what did you make of Demichelis during his time at the club? Comment below with your views!

Celtic announced the departure of out-of-contract duo Johnny Hayes and Jozo Simunovic earlier this week with their manager Neil Lennon waxing lyrical about the pair.

He said: “Both leave Celtic as nine-in-a-row champions. It’s an achievement they richly deserve and something I know they will cherish dearly. I would like to sincerely thank both Jozo and Jonny, brilliant lads who have given their all to Celtic over a number of years.”

And it appears as if the Bhoys chief-in-command has already found a replacement for the Croatian centre-back – if fresh reports are to be believed.

According to The Herald, Celtic are monitoring Hellas Verona defender Pawel Dawidowicz to take Simunovic’s place as the main challenge to first-choice pairing Kristoffer Ajer and Christopher Jullien.

It’s claimed that the Hoops would need to ‘stump up some cash’ in order to lure him to Parkhead with a £1.4m being mentioned in the report.

The 6 foot 2 colossus is under contract for another two years at the Serie A outfit, where he has made just six starts for them this term. He’s also able to play in defensive akin to Ajer.

The single toughest football logo quiz of all time…

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

Per WhoScored, the Poland international has averaged 1.8 clearances, 1.8 aerial duels won and 1.1 tackles in his 14 total appearances.

Lennon decided to not take the option up on Simunovic for next season, meaning the Glasgow giants are certainly in need of adding some strength in depth in that department.

Whether that will be Dawidowicz remains to be seen.

AND in other news, Celtic tipped to sign 29-goal sharpshooter but only on ONE condition…