AFTER playing three Champions League group games without scoring a single goal, Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst clearly decided that drastic action was required tonight.
With the Ibrox club’s hopes of finishing in the top two in Group F and going through to the last 16 of the competition looking remote after defeats to Ajax, Napoli and Liverpool, Van Bronckhorst made changes up front.
Out went striker Alfredo Morelos, the all-time record European goalscorer down Govan way, and winger Malik Tillman, the Bayern Munich loanee, and in came Antonio Colak and Fashion Sakala.
Could the duo provide the spark which had been missing from the Glasgow club’s play in the previous five weeks and help them avenge the Battle of Britain defeat they had suffered at Anfield eight days earlier?
Their manager was clearly hoping they would entering the rematch with Jurgen Klopp’s superstars.
But it was little surprise to anyone in the crowd that it was that man Scott Arfield, an individual with an uncanny knack of bursting forward from midfield and notching important goals when his side need them most, who supplied it.
Arfield established himself as a fans’ favourite long ago. The former Canadian internationalist is a clever footballer who has performed consistently for Rangers during the past four-and-a-half years. But he shot up in their estimations tonight when he registered their first goal in over 270 minutes.
He celebrated his well-taken strike, the first scored by a player in a light blue jersey in the Champions League since Kenny Miller hit the target against Bursaspor in Turkey way back in 2010, with his trademark salute to the jubilant supporters.
He is 33 now and the best years of his career are behind him. But the man who signed a one year extension to his contract back in May clearly has much still to offer at a high level.
If his team mates had displayed the same sort of composure and intelligence their campaign might have been rather different.
It would have been difficult for Van Bronckhorst to leave Colak on the bench after his double in the 4-0 rout of St Mirren on Saturday – a brace which took his tally for the 2022/23 campaign to 13.
The Croatian may lack both the physicality and the mobility of his Columbian club mate Morelos and might not have as impressive a strike rate in continental competition. But he has the happy knack of being in exactly the right place at exactly the right time and capitalising on the slightest chance.
Colak has, too, weighed in with some important strikes in Europe, not least the winner in the second leg of the play-off double header against PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands back in August. He linked well with James Tavernier and Ryan Jack to set up Arfield for the opener. But he did not receive the ammunition he needed thereafter.
Any high ball which was floated into the visitors’ area, and there were a fair few forlorn attempts to find him, were headed clear with ease by Virgil van Dijk or Ibrahima Konate. It was a tough evening for the forward to plough a lone furlough in the final third.
Opportunity also knocked for Sakala. The Zambian has been a peripheral figure for much of time in this country. He has shown flashes of his ability, including in big games against Celtic, but he has struggled to get an extended run in the first team or establish himself in one position.
Right wing, though, has been a problem position for Van Bronckhorst this term. Rabbi Matonda, Tillman and Scott Wright have all had their chances out wide without impressing hugely. But Sakala was fast and direct at the weekend and retained his berth as a result.
John Lundstram found the forward with a long diagonal ball across the pitch in the fourth minute and his team mate got an attempt on target. It lacked power and Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson had little difficulty gathering. It was the last time he tested the Brazilian.
There was nothing wrong with Liverpool’s finishing. Roberto Firminio, Darwin Nunez, Mo Salah, who sprang off the bench and claimed a five minute hat-trick, and Harvey Elliott all showed their quality to sew up an emphatic away win for Liverpool and take them closer to the knockout rounds,
Morelos, Wright and Matondo came on at 4-1 and were unable to make the scoreline more respectable. There will need to be a significant improvement going forward against Napoli away and Ajax at home if third place in the section and spot in the Europa League are to be secured.
