Juventus' Win over Bologna Shows Importance of Ex-Real Madrid Star Alvaro Morata

Juventus recorded a 3-1 win over Bologna on Sunday, the match providing the first home triumph of the 2015/16 Serie A season for the Bianconeri.

The team have struggled through the early rounds of the new campaign, but the past week—during which they also notched victory over Sevilla—appears to have seen an end to their woes.

That Champions League result came just a few days after a hugely disappointing loss to Napoli, and a closer look at the team sheet for each clash offers a number of hints as to how and why Massimiliano Allegri’s men have suddenly returned to form.

The matches against Sevilla and Bologna saw the Juve boss name an unchanged side for the first time this term, able to rely on the same men each time, and he was rewarded with two vastly improved performances.

Contributions from the likes of Sami Khedira and Andrea Barzagli cannot be understated, but on both occasions, it was Alvaro Morata who, rightly, grabbed the headlines.

Against the Spanish side, the pacey striker returned to the starting line-up for the first time since the meeting with Manchester City.

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Just as he did at the Etihad Stadium, the 22-year-old found the back of the net, scoring in his fifth consecutive Champions League appearance to equal Alessandro Del Piero’s club record.

Morata could not hide his delight at a streak which includes both legs of the semi-final against Real Madrid as well as the final against Barcelona.

“Obviously doing what a legend of football like Del Piero has done in the past is a reason of pride for me,” Morata told the official UEFA website shortly after the final whistle. “I'm proud but I don't want to stop here. I want to keep working hard to help the team winning and to score more goals.”

“We haven't started the season well, but I'm sure we just need a bit of patience,” he continued. “Juve will be back. Personally I just want to work harder in order to start scoring in the league as well.”

This weekend at Juventus Stadium, he would do just that, netting a vital equalising goal after Bologna surprisingly took the lead. He would then win a penalty from which Paulo Dybala would hand Juve the lead, before Morata turned provider to lay on a third goal for Khedira.

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HT #JuveBologna 1-1 (a better angle of #Morata's goal https://t.co/7Ug3O6juns) #LazioFrosinone 0 - 0

— GazzettaWorld (@GazzettaWorld) October 4, 2015"

Indeed, after thriving alongside Carlos Tevez last season, Morata is beginning to enjoy playing alongside Dybala, and the 21-year-old Argentinian was happy to praise his new team-mate in a recent interview with Sky Italia.

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“I have a good relationship with Alvaro, because before I got to Juventus (he) wrote me a message saying he was glad I was coming here,” Dybala said, per Football Italia. “We’re working, because we’re young and we still have to grow. But he’s a player who has played for Real Madrid, he’s come so far and I think he can help me a lot.”

The link between Morata and his former club is a constant topic of conversation, with Real Madrid having the option to re-sign him in the summer of both 2016 and 2017, according to the official Juventus website.

Yet the player himself remains committed to the Bianconeri clause, a fact he reiterated to TuttoSport last week. “What can I say? Each time I score a goal, I'm reminded that the tifosi are afraid I'll leave them,” Morata said per Football Italia.

“So I hope I get that question often! But answering now would be disrespectful towards the club and the teammates. I'm wearing the Juventus colours now and that's the team I'm focused on.”

His performances reinforce that and Morata has proven himself to be indispensable for Allegri and Juventus, the team looking much sharper when he is on the field.