‘He looked lively’ – Rangers’ Gerrard hails Sakala after Motherwell goal

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has hailed the performance of Zambia international Fashion Sakala after he scored his first goal in a 1-1 draw against Motherwell on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Chipolopolo forward headed in his first competitive goal for the Light Blues after 12 minutes before Kaiyne Woolery stunned Ibrox Stadium in the 66th minute when he fired in an equaliser.

The draw saw Motherwell become the first team to take a point away from Rangers at Ibrox since March 2020 but it kept them at the top of the Scottish Premiership table with 13 points from six matches, one more than Hibernian and Hearts, who are second and third, respectively.

Sakala's goal came after his effort was punched out for a corner by goalkeeper Liam Kelly but from the resultant set-piece, the Zambia international headed in from the far post, after an effort by Nigeria international Joe Aribo had been saved.

However, the Gers were left to rue their missed chances as Woolery raced to meet a cross from Kevin Van Veen and sneak the ball past Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor.

Despite the draw, the Liverpool legend has reserved praise for Sakala, who has managed 164 minutes in the top-flight since he joined the Scottish champions.

“He looked ready, he looked lively and he pulled off a great goal and looked dangerous throughout, but what he needs more is back up [from his fellow players], we need more people to support him upfront,” Gerrard told Rangers TV after the game.

On the performance of Aribo, who set up Sakala for the goal, Gerrard said: "No-one will remember. We're at Rangers. I thought Joe Aribo, Glen Kamara, Steven Davis, a lot of players from box to box today played some incredible stuff.”

On the overall outcome, Gerrard told Sky Sports: “It's two points dropped, there's no getting away from that. I think box to box today we played some outstanding stuff. We got there on numerous occasions but our last pass, our final cross and us taking our chances just weren't there today.

“We've only got ourselves to blame. When you don't get the second goal you lose that control and you've always got that chance to be vulnerable at the back.

“We've had these lessons before. That's the concern. We give the players the detail and the detail doesn't really change.

“We have to take ownership of it. That was a straightforward home win for me and we should be three points clear at the top. Instead, we're only one and that feels frustrating right now.”

While Aribo and Sakala featured for Rangers, two Nigerians - Leon Balogun and Calvin Bassey – did not feature for the side.