Alfredo Morelos, the Rangers top scorer, will miss the rest of the season. The 25-year-old striker was injured in the service of Colombia, has been turned on and will only return next season, so he lost the quarter-finals of the European League with Braga, whose first leg will be held on Thursday in Minho. Coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst asked the players to overcome in absence as well as the weekend’s defeat to Celtic, which left the team six points off the lead.
“It’s a big drop. He’s our striker and he won’t be with us until the end of the season. We’re sad, but we have to move on. The last match was without him and so it will be tomorrow. Morelos also commented, we don’t have Hadji and Laurie.”
“We all have to change the ‘slide’, that’s the only thing to do. This game is already over and the present is this game with SC Braga. We did very well in Europe, now we are one step ahead and fighting for the semi-finals. “We have everything to win this draw,” he said at a news conference this morning in Glasgow.
For the Dutch coach, the players will have to seize this opportunity to go far in European competition. “We don’t often play the quarter-finals in Europe. It’s a great opportunity to reach the semi-finals. We have to work hard and put in great performances ”, he said, paying attention to the opponent:
Braga is a very good team, they beat Benfica on Friday and we are looking forward to a tough challenge. We have to work hard and play well tomorrow and next week so we can get past SC Braga and go to the semi-finals. “
Van Bronckhorst didn’t pick anyone on the Portuguese squad, but he left more praise for Carlos Carvalhal’s team. “I don’t think there is a great player, we watched some European matches and against Benfica he is a strong opponent. Portuguese teams are always complex in defence, they are quick in transitions, and from a defensive standpoint, they are very organized”, he analyzed, and also underestimated the possible less experience of Braga due to Carvalhal’s bet on younger players: “It takes experience to win against Monaco and Sherif-Braga are a strong and well-organised team, with good team operations, it is a combination of all these traits.”
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