Alvaro Morata delivers for Chelsea - Analysis of striker's performance in 2-0 win over Everton

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  • Alvaro Morata

    Chelsea followed up their win against Tottenham last week with a 2-0 victory over Everton on Sunday.

    Cesc Fabregas and Alvaro Morata were on target to secure the win for the Blues at Stamford Bridge.

    Both Spaniards were in fine form for the fixture with the midfielder returning from suspension while the former Real Madrid striker is still finding his feet at his new club.

    Here, we focus on the Morata’s performance.

    Basic stats

    Goals – 1

    Assists – 1

    Shots – 2

    Dribbles – 0

    Passes – 18

    Key passes – 3

    Pass Accuracy – 77.8%

    Touches – 33

    Aerials Won – 2

    Effectiveness

    Morata is still coming to terms to with the way Chelsea operate. Despite working in a three-man defence system previously at Juventus, he did so in a 3-5-2 where he had a strike partner for company upfront.

    Against Everton, he continued to try to get accustomed to the lone striker role in a 3-4-3 system and had a mixed start to the game. While his movement was good as he made the right runs and showed for the ball as well, he struggled to hold on to it. Indeed, he was dispossessed four times, second to only Wayne Rooney on the pitch (5).

    However, Morata did show glimpses of his class and delivered when it mattered. He set up Pedro with a neat turn early on. He drifted out of the game a lot but popped up to assist Fabregas for the opener.

    Five minutes before half-time, he nodded home to double Chelsea’s lead. As the match progressed, he began to click with his team-mates more, linking up well with compatriots Pedro and Fabregas in the second half before being replaced in the 77th minute.

    Morata makes it 2-0

    Morata makes it 2-0

    Key moments

    27th min: Willian spins and finds Fabregas bombing forward who plays a one-two with Morata and finds the far corner..

    40th min: Cesar Azpilicueta has plenty of time and space on the right and picks out Morata who is left unmarked in the middle and buries his header with perfection.

    48th min: Morata links up with Pedro on the edge of the box and the latter fires an effort just wide.

    Our verdict

    On paper, it was a great performance as Morata picked up a goal and assist but it was more a sign of things to come from the Spaniard than an indication of his arrival.

    He didn’t have enough of an influence on the game for large periods but didn’t disappoint when he was in threatening areas. Still has to work on his hold-up play and how to bring his team-mates into the game but he’s getting there.

    7.5/10

    Alvaro Morata

    Alvaro Morata

    All statistics are compiled using whoscored.com

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