Gerrard hoping for pumped up Ibrox against Hearts on Sunday
Friday 5 October 2018 18:34, UK
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has played down comparisons between Alfredo Morelos and former Liverpool team-mate Luis Suarez, describing them as "unfair".
The Colombian scored twice and won a penalty as Rangers beat Rapid Vienna 3-1 to go top of Europa League group G on Thursday.
Morelos left team-mate Joe Worrall so impressed with his display, the Nottingham Forest loanee even compared him to Suarez.
But Gerrard does not want to heap extra pressure on the 22-year-old by likening him to the Barcelona striker.
"I don't want to compare Alfredo to Luis Suarez. Obviously, Luis is a lot older, a lot more experienced, he's a world-class player - probably the best I played with.
"So it's unfair to compare them just yet.
"But there are a lot of similarities in behaviour. They both play on the edge. They want to win, be it training or games, they can both finish, they score big goals, they're relentless in the way they play.
"So yeah there's similarities but Alfredo is a young lad who's still learning and growing so I think it's a bit unfair to compare him to Suarez."
Asked about his performance in the Europa League, Gerrard added: "He fed off the supporters. You can see the love both ways.
"The fans have been behind him from day one whether he's got it wrong or got it right like last night. It's a fantastic relationship.
"His behaviour on the pitch, his application, his selflessness got him his reward with his two fantastic goals.
"If you give him service he will score us goals. But everything last night was perfect from him. It was a top performance."
Having stormed to the top of Group G, Rangers' next aim is to slash back their eight-point deficit on Premiership leaders Hearts on Sunday.
And Gerrard is hoping for another pumped-up performance from both his players and the Rangers faithful.
"We'd love Ibrox to be bouncing and rocking again," he said. "I'm sure the supporters are going to be going to Ibrox in good spirits after last night.
"But we also have to play our part. We can't start slow and wait for the crowd to lift us.
"Last night the players fed off the atmosphere and it really took them to a really high level. But the players' quality, their tempo and intensity made the fans even more vocal.
"It worked perfectly yesterday and as a manager I'd love to see that again on Sunday.
"Ibrox was rocking, it was shaking, it was bouncing. I've experienced that many, many times at Anfield. The support was almost like a 12th man and it felt like that last night.
"I'm blessed because as a player I felt I had the best support in the world and the fans got performances out of me because of the noise they created.
"Rangers have done that as well over many years with all their successful teams but last night was ... wow! The noise took you back.
"I got involved in it emotionally myself but that's what football is all about at a top club and the more times the supporters can bring that the better it is for the players."
