Glasgow Rangers defender Bruno Alves made his first start for the Ibrox side since December.
With a clash with Celtic just on the horizon and a World Cup ahead in the summer, Bruno Alves would have known how important it was that he impressed when handed a rare start for Rangers’ Scottish Cup quarter-final against Falkirk on Sunday.
It has been a hugely frustrating time for the Portuguese since he limped out of the early stages of the last Old Firm game back in December, with a substitute appearance against St Johnstone last week his first outing since the last trip to Parkhead.
So making the most of his chance against the Scottish Championship side was undoubtedly a must if he hoped to reestablish himself as a first choice and give Graeme Murty something to think about with the Ibrox boss regularly picking Russell Martin alongside David Bates this year.
But while Boyd was impressed, there may well be a number of Rangers fans who are now concerned about the prospect of Alves coming in against Celtic as there were some signs that suggested that he may be a potential weaker-link if he plays.
Understandably given his lack of game-time, Alves looked quite rusty at times, both when he had the ball and when he was taking up a position when Falkirk were attacking – and it seemed that Bates had to bail him out on a couple of occasions.
There were some bright moments. A full-blooded slide challenge just outside Rangers’ box in the first-half would have reminded fans how good the centre-back can be, for example.
It was always going to be difficult to use a game against a second tier side to stake a claim to muscle in on a well-performing partnership for a game as important as the one coming up this Sunday. And while Boyd thought Alves did do extremely well, some of the moments against Falkirk may leave some Rangers fans hoping that the veteran is not risked when Brendan Rodgers’ men come to Ibrox.
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