World News – UK – 3 topics to talk about when Alfredo Morelos picks up the late Rangers winner

It wasn’t a classic at the Tony Macaroni Arena, but the Ibrox Club is on the verge of fame

Rangers are only four points away from the title when a late Alfredo Morelos winner saw them fight Livingston

Manager Steven Gerrard was sent to the booth on a tense night in West Lothian as his side tried to find a way through him

His anger was sparked by a booking for Morelos, who missed several good opportunities to get his squad to the top

But El Bufalo ended up taking trumps and turned home at the back post to keep his side on the brink of stardom

They’ll take the title this weekend when they see St Beat Mirren and Celtic didn’t get three points against Dundee United on Sunday

Gerrard made two changes after defeating Antwerp, with Nathan Patterson coming on from the start and Scott Arfield replacing Ianis Hagi

The hosts wanted to benefit from their defeat against St Johnstone rebounded in the League Cup final, and David Martindale made four changes to his XI

Max Stryjek came in for Robby McCrorie, who owns Rangers, as did Craig Sibbald, Gavin Reilly and Jack Fitzwater

Livi started bright as they pushed their way up and put pressure on the visiting defense Reilly hit an early shot straight at Allan McGregor

Halfway through, the Rangers began getting the negotiations under control without ever really testing the Livi defense

Reilly was sent off after just 21 minutes, with Scott Robinson replacing him

The substitute soon used Jason Holt for a shot on goal, which was well blocked by Filip Helander

The Swede almost crashed at the other end, but he could only go over after a corner

Morelos thought he should have received a penalty 10 minutes before break for going down under Strykej’s challenge, but John Beaton showed the striker a yellow card to dive

Rangers were on the up and Arfield should only have opened the scoring to screw it wide on his left foot

Gerrard was outraged by his striker’s booking and marched onto the pitch to face Beaton as the teams headed into the locker room

After booking a curse with the official, the Rangers manager vented further and quickly received a second yellow to watch the rest of the game from the stands

Connor Goldson thought he gave the visitors the lead shortly after the break, but his header was correctly excluded for offside

The only fireworks of the first half had come from the Rangers manager, but Beaton had to stop the game in the second half as the pyrotechnics outside caused debris to rain on the field

However, the action on the pitch was far from explosive as none of the goalkeepers had much to do

Morelos should have opened the standings within 15 minutes, but he shot wide past the far post after picking him up in the box

He missed another glorious chance at the back post after Goldson’s corner patch and you got the impression that a goal would never come

But El Bufalo had reached his destination late and turned after Stryjek saved from Kent

The game won’t be remembered for long when the story of the title is told, but the champagne will be on hold on Sunday

The Rangers manager has shown a calm and measured demeanor throughout the season, but it is clear that he wants to finish the title as soon as possible

Gerrard was furious about the decision not to give Morelos a penalty, berated referee John Beaton and gestured furiously

The Ibrox boss was inevitably sent to the stands, but the fact that he was 0-0 45 minutes before the end of the game shows how close his team is to fame

Any idea that David Martindale’s bubble had popped after four games without a win was put to bed on Wednesday night

The pressure showed in the end when Morelos grabbed a winner, but Livi has a lot of positive things to do

This isn’t the type of game that would have been a boon to a neutral viewer on Sky

There were a few things to admire – Livingston’s organization, the excellent Glen Kamara – but villain fireworks and some Scouse curses were the highlights

Livingston fought well, Rangers got one step closer to the title Let’s never talk about it again

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