Alvaro Morata focus as he's left out on a limb in narrow Atletico Madrid defeat to Real Betis

Sooraj Kamath - Writer 23:57 03/02/2019
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  • Alvaro Morata

    Alvaro Morata’s journey with Atletico Madrid began on a negative note, with Los Colchoneros conceding defeat to Real Betis at the Benito Villamarin

    Diego Simeone’s men were unable to make the early possession count in the first half and were clearly second best on the night.

    Sergio Canales put the hosts ahead from the spot and the visitors failed to even test Pau Lopez in reply.

    We take a look at Morata’s performance and rate the centre forward’s debut.

    KEY STATS

    MINUTES: 90

    GOALS: 0

    ASSISTS: 0

    KEY-PASSES: 0

    PASSES (ACCURACY): 22 (50%)

    SHOTS (ON TARGET): 4 (1)

    DRIBBLES (SUCCESSFUL): 5 (5)

    AERIALS WON: 6

    DISPOSSESSED: 3

    30-SECOND REPORT

    Clearly, Morata did not enjoy his debut for boyhood club Atletico like he would have hoped for. But in his defence, Atletico barely created anything for the forward to pounce on, despite all the possession.

    The Chelsea loanee mustered five shots in ninety minutes, only one of which was on target – right at the chest of custodian Lopez.

    The 26-year-old struggled to fit into Atletico’s system and his build-up involvement was not up to the mark. This is something that really needs to be looked into as he prepares himself to play a crucial role towards the business end of the season.

    GOT RIGHT

    Dribbling

    Morata attempted five dribbles and successfully completed all of them. This comes as an appreciable feat for a player who failed to involve himself in build-up and was found asking for the ball most of the time rather than staying in possession.

    This aspect of his game was particularly useful in a couple of counter-attacks too, when Atletico managed to get past Betis’s high line but failed to deliver the end product.

    With the midfielders disappointing, Morata was forced to create chances on his own and he used his dribbling abilities to churn something out. However, his finishing let him down.

    Alvaro Morata

    Alvaro Morata

    GOT WRONG

    Positioning and passing

    Although possession-based football is not exactly how you’d describe Atletico’s approach to every game, a certain level of positioning sense and passing proficiency is necessary to perform well for any team in La Liga.

    Morata has arrived from Chelsea, a team which has embraced the “pass and move” philosophy under Maurizio Sarri. So, the forward is expected to be a good passer of the ball with an ability to drop deep and link up with his team-mates when necessary.

    In fact, the 26-year-old has shown during his times at Juventus and Real Madrid that he can do a good job as an all-round striker.

    However, his positioning and passing was dismal against Betis. Morata attempted just 22 passes and managed to complete just 11 of them.

    Positioning is another aspect of his game the forward should work on. There were times when he could have made a good run, but failed to make the right call.

    VERDICT

    Morata does not deserve a lot of criticism for failing to fire in his debut for Atletico. One could even make a bold, yet valid, claim that he was probably the best outfield player for Atletico.

    The lack of goal is attributed to the fact that he was out on a limb for majority of the game. However, he must work on his positioning and passing.

    Needless to say, Morata must step into his scoring boots soon and improve his shot accuracy.

    RATING 6/10

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