T-1000

Motherwell 1 Rangers 3 FGS: Morelos

SG perhaps needed to freshen up the midfield by bringing on fresh legs. The problem for him was when you look at the bench he did not have available any quality midfielders. Kent was busy but not having that much joy and therefore Ojo might well have been as his best choice. You could, however, argue that given Young Boys were mainly throwing long balls into the area SG might have put on another defender but even here we did not have that many good options on the bench.

Not sure I would agree, as Feyenoord looked the poorest team to me. Having said that, I don't think there is a lot between the four teams with no one (two teams) being dominant.

Mack1950, I think you are a bit harsh on Kamara who, along with Arfield, was industrious and part of the reason our midfield outplayed them. Having said that I believe we need someone with a bit more bite and pace than Arfield. Although Kent did not have his best game he was tightly marked by Celtic players which allowed others the space to operate. I agree, however, that it would be beneficial to see Kent do his work nearer the opponent's goal rather than meandering across the pitch 40 or so yards from the goal. Leaving aside the terrific shot from Jack, today's game also showed that we need players, other than Morelos, to be stepping up and scoring goals in the big games.

I agree with you about Barker but there were not many options on the subs bench.

I think we should take positives from this game. Yes, we lost but we outplayed Celtic and that stands us well for the league games against them. I only had a couple of reservations about the game. Instead of sending on Defoe I think Stewart should have been put on because he might have added that bit guile when we started to chase the game and started to send balls into the area with more hope than expectation. I just hope none of our players picked up injuries that rule them out of the game on Thursday. So, let's move on and look forward to winning on Thursday and advancing in the Europa league.

Rangers 2 Celtic 1 FGS: Morelos

I felt in the second half our back line was pressured a bit more and they didn't seem to be able to handle this which resulted in far too many aimless punts upfield. I also felt Davis was given a lot of time on the ball in the first half and was able to pick his pass but unfortunately in the second half his time on the ball was more limited. Having seen tonight's game I rather suspect Celtic will plan to put pressure on our back line knowing that there is a good possibility of a mistake being made.

Aberdeen 1 Rangers 2 FGS: Morelos

Rangers 3 Hearts 1 FGS: Morelos

Feyenoord 2 Rangers 2 FGS: Morelos

There were two or three occasions when Hamilton caught us on the blind side and we were found wanting. Fortunately, Hamilton did not make the most of these chances but something SG has to sort out.

In the snippets of games I have seen he always looks quite a tidy player who is seeking to play a meaningful pass. As I expect he is not on that high a salary probably worth keeping for another year to see if he develops. I suspect Gerrard might see him as having greater promise than Docherty who is about three years older and is currently not included in the match-day squads. In terms of the midfield I am sure a priority for Gerrard will be someone who can control the midfield and take over from Davis when he retires.

Solid contributions from Helander, Goldson and Barisic but I think Davis just pips them because of his tireless work in holding together the midfield.

A number of very good performances but I will go with Helander because he made a couple of interceptions and tackles that more than likely prevented Porto from scoring and kept us in the match.

A little surprised not to see Arfield in the team if nothing else because of his industry. The selection of Barker (and Kent) who has not had much playing time recently suggests that SG believes we can catch Porto on the break.

Last season Tav's defensive indiscretions could be forgiven because of the attacking dimension and assists he created. The latter has not been so apparent in games this season and therefore he probably needs a rest to take some of the pressure off him. I felt Hearts controlled the nature of the game, with long balls and a lot of the play in the air. This is Hearts' strength but not ours and we didn't seem able to impose our brisk passing game. Another worrying aspect was the lack of chances we created and the extent to which Morelos looked a bit isolated in the attack. I also thought we missed the aggression and drive of Jack today.

Unfortunately lost 4 nil in the final. We very rarely looked like scoring. Some good individual play but did not play well as a team with poor passing and movement and too many of the players trying to do too much on their own.. The goalkeeper also put us in trouble a few times by playing risky outballs.

It's Greg Stewart for me, a player with good footballing intelligence.

Not defending Tav but there was an element of back luck with the first goal we conceded. Yes, Tav should have been quicker and kicked for touch, instead he cannoned it off the Young Boys player and the ball goes behind Tav and ends up at the feet of the Young Boys player who then crosses it for the goal.

I was surprised that King did not come on when Ryan Jack had to go off. I felt he would have added a bit of calmness to midfield and it would have meant that Arfield could remain as one of the front three. With respect to Tav, although his performances have not matched those of last season if Flanagan was used as right back we would lose some attacking flair. Polster might be an alternative but we have not had much opportunity to see if he can perform at a consistently high level and provide an offensive threat. Finally, when we saw the group we were in it was apparent that it was going to be tight and after two games we still have all to play for though it would be useful to get a result in the next match against Porto.

SG has said that Katic is a real warrior who attacks the ball. However, in this game where it would have been useful for him to play and combat Dykes, he is left on the bench. It seemed an odd decision. After watching the match tonight I would think that McInnes will tell Cosgrove to be in the face of our centre backs.

I don't think we want to get drawn into a physical battle as it unsettles our rhythm and passing. We want to move the ball quicker and improve the accuracy of our passing, many of which were wayward in the first half.

Aribo injured with head injury, replaced by Davis.

Rangers 1 up, Kamara scored.