There has been a longstanding debate in Scottish football about who the better striker is between Alfredo Morelos and Odsonne Edouard. Sunday’s final must have tipped it in the Frenchman’s favour after the Rangers striker put in a rotten performance. But former Scotland striker, Billy Dodds, still believes that Morelos is the better goalscorer between the two.
The League Cup final was nothing short of a nightmare for Alfredo Morelos. Having scored 25 goals and provided 9 assists already this season, the Rangers’ fans were depending on the Colombian to carry them to the trophy on Sunday. But the striker put in a display that was of more help to Celtic than to his own club.
Despite having a number of brilliant chances to score, Morelos could not find a way past Fraser Forster, who stood in goal like a wall. He even missed the chance to equalize from the penalty spot in the 64th minute after the Rangers’ regular penalty-taker James Tavernier had given him the ball in hopes that it was an easy opportunity for the Colombian to break his duck against Celtic. And now it is 11 derbies that Morelos has played without ever having scored against the Hoops.
But despite Sunday’s performance, Billy Dodds believes that Morelos is a better goalscorer than Edouard. Speaking to the Glasgow Evening Times after the game, the former Scotland international said:
“Who is the best player between Edouard and Morelos? Morelos is the best goalscorer but Edouard is probably a more intelligent player who’ll get you a few goals with more cultured finishes, but Morelos is a more natural finisher.
“He has this stigma and until he gets that goal against Celtic it will play on his mind. You could see it from his first miss [in the League Cup final].”
Despite not being fully-fit, Edouard turned out to be a game changer on Sunday. After struggling without a real forward for the first hour of the game, Lennon put on Edouard in place of Lewis Morgan and the impact was almost instant. Celtic scored a minute later and then put on an inspired display to hold on to the lead despite being down to 10 men for almost half an hour. Morelos on the other wasted chance after chance on the other end of the pitch.
Big players play in big games and the difference between the two is very clear when it comes to big games. While Edouard thrives on the big occasions his Colombian counterpart shrinks under the spotlight. He might have almost twice the goals as the Frenchman this season but you’ll much rather have Edouard in your team if your life depended on it.
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