Why Alvaro Morata Will Be Juventus' X Factor in 2nd Half of Season

The progress of Juventus in recent months has been well documented, with the Italian champions rising quickly up the Serie A table after recording 10 consecutive wins and returning to their best form.

Indeed, the Turin giants took to their own social-media accounts to note their own rise, looking back at the standings from before embarking on that string of victories, the tweet below showing them in sitting in 12th-place after nine rounds.

Now in second spot and just two points behind leaders Napoli, Juventus will hope to successfully defend the title they have lifted in each of the previous four seasons. To do so, they will need their best players to deliver on the field, and it could well be that Alvaro Morata will be the decisive figure to help achieve that aim.

The Spanish striker has played little part thus far, netting just three goals in all competitions, with two of those coming in the Champions League. The other was a smartly taken header against Bologna on October 4, a strike which also marked the last time Morata found the net for the Bianconeri.

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Since then, the 23-year-old has made 11 starts, his barren spell now spanning a staggering 943 minutes, but he remains a vital member of coach Massimiliano Allegri’s squad as the second half of the campaign gets under way.

His importance was evident in the latter part of 2014/15, when he netted crucial goals in their run to the Champions League final and proved to be the perfect partner for Carlos Tevez.

With Paulo Dybala now in the spot previously occupied by his fellow Argentinian, it is worth noting that Morata currently has just one goal fewer than this time last term.

The former Real Madrid man has also improved other aspects of his game, with statistics courtesy of Squawka.com highlighting the differences. So far this season, their figures show he has hit the target with 53 percent of his shots—which the graphic below indicates is a team high mark—compared to 50 percent a year ago.

Squawka.com

He has also increased his pass-completion rate from 75 percent to 80 percent, which is even more impressive when taking into account he is finding team-mates more often. According to WhoScored, he is currently making 13.7 pass attempts per game compared to his average of 13.0 last term.

Earlier this season, as Allegri deployed a 4-3-3 formation, Morata was often fielded on the left flank, but a return to a more flexible 3-5-2 framework has put him back in a more orthodox striking role and hopefully the goals will begin to flow again soon.

Having already netted nine times for Juventus, summer signing Mario Mandzukic has undoubtedly surpassed Morata as the first-choice partner for the impressive Dybala, but the Spanish star’s pace undoubtedly makes him a more complete striker.

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The Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Football Italia) have linked Morata with a move to Liverpool, while talk of a return to Real Madrid is something of a constant theme, and that possibility was discussed by Juve’s director general last week.

“We have no temptation because we believe in Morata and are accustomed to not selling our best players,” Beppe Marotta told Mediaset Premium (h/t Football Italia), and the striker’s importance was also addressed by his coach in a November press conference.

“In contrast to last season, when he was behind Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente in the pecking order, Alvaro is one of our first-choice strikers this year,” Allegri said after the win over Palermo. “His assist for Simone Zaza’s strike was a sign of what he is capable of and he’ll become a key player for Juventus.”

As they prepare to return to Champions League action next month against Bayern Munich and continue to defend their Serie A crown, the Bianconeri will need Morata to do just that—and he is more than capable of delivering.