How Atletico Madrid loan has revitalised Alvaro Morata

Come January 2019, Alvaro Morata was a Chelsea reject who the London club simply could not wait to get rid of. Now, back in the colours of his boyhood club Atletico Madrid, he has returned to the Morata that convinced the Blues to fork out £60 million for his services.

Our tactical analysis will provide insight into how the Spaniard has performed on loan in La Liga, rediscovering his best form.

In a front two

Quickly establishing himself ahead of injury-hit Diego Costa in the pecking order, Morata is no longer a lone centre-forward as he was at both Chelsea and Real Madrid. Instead, he lines up alongside Antoine Griezmann in a front two. It’s a role which has suited him well, allowing him to capitalise on his intelligence and movement to exploit the spaces left behind when defenders are attracted to his French teammate.

Much like at Real Madrid where defenders would crowd around Cristiano Ronaldo and Morata would pick up the slack in behind, Morata is taking advantage of not being the focal point in attack. While at Chelsea he would often cut an isolated figure and carry the weight of the team in the final third, it is clear that he is benefitting from this set-up allowing him to share the responsibility and handle less defensive pressure.

His first goal against Villarreal came through that exact approach, with Griezmann pulling two men towards the ball, creating space in behind for Morata to step away from his man and apply a fine volley into the bottom corner. Having had two goals ruled out by VAR in the past week, Morata showed the kind of composure that would be expected of an elite striker and did not allow the frustration to get to him. Unlike his tantrums and strops at Chelsea, his mindset appears different when he is not his teams talisman.

No longer the last man

That also has a clear impact on his positioning on the field. Less and less, Morata is clinging onto the last man and hanging around in the danger areas. Instead, he shares this role with Griezmann and can often be found deeper and wider, playing more of a role in the build-up and drifting wide. With Diego Simeone often deploying one non-attacking player in a wide midfield role, such as Koke or Saul Niguez, it allows Morata more space to occupy those wide spaces that he simply did not have at Chelsea where wingers need that space to bomb into.

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