Breaking Down Alvaro Morata's Performance for Juventus vs. Real Madrid

As Juventus headed for the Spanish capital on Wednesday evening, the newly crowned Serie A champions knew their slender advantage over Real Madrid would not be enough. Just a week earlier, goals from Alvaro Morata and Carlos Tevez had handed the Bianconeri a 2-1 lead over Carlo Ancelotti’s men, but they were in no doubt about the task ahead.

Indeed, at his pre-match press conference, Massimiliano Allegri reminded his players “that we're up against very strong opponents,” before telling reporters that he believed his side would need “to do particularly well in attack.”

In order to deliver what the coach had demanded, the visitors would rely on Tevez once again, their leading scorer and perhaps football’s most underrated superstar. His strike against Los Blancos in Turin marked his 50th for the club in just 92 appearances, the Argentinian striker consistently delivering when the Old Lady needs him most.

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Beside him in attack, Morata only arrived last summer and yet had supplanted Fernando Llorente as Juve’s go-to option in the biggest matches. The latter boasted an excellent record against Real Madrid, netting five times—including twice at the Santiago Bernabeu—for Athletic Club, adding two more in two encounters with the Italian side.

Yet it would once again be the younger man chosen to lead the attack, Allegri preferring his pace and incisiveness to the towering presence his compatriot could provide in the opposition penalty area. The game—ending in a 1-1 draw—was reviewed previously, but having moved to the Bianconeri for €20 million back in July, Morata’s performance is worth analysing in greater detail.

After an early chance for Gareth Bale, his first touch against his former club released Stephan Lichtsteiner down the right flank, but their first attack came to nothing. Another would quickly follow as Morata and Arturo Vidal combined to release Tevez, who misplaced a pass intended for Paul Pogba.

From there, the home side began to pressure Gigi Buffon with alarming regularity, with Bale, Karim Benzema and of course Cristiano Ronaldo all testing the goalkeeper amid a flurry of chances. Morata earned his team a corner after 15 minutes, but eventually Real Madrid got their breakthrough as Giorgio Chiellini was adjudged to have fouled James Rodriguez, with the referee somewhat harshly awarding a penalty.

Ronaldo made no mistake from the spot, and the Serie A giants would look rattled for a few minutes before Morata won yet another corner around five minutes later, only to see Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema break from it, almost doubling their advantage but somehow squandering the opportunity.

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A Morata shot—his first of the contest—was deflected wide, then he was flagged offside just before Rodriguez was booked for diving after taking another tumble in the box. That brought the first 45 minutes to a close, and with the scores as they were, Juventus would start the second half knowing they must score to continue their Champions League adventure.

Pogba and Claudio Marchisio had early efforts denied after the break as the Bianconeri came out with renewed determination, with a nervous Sergio Ramos fouling Vidal to present Andrea Pirlo with a set piece in a dangerous position on the right flank.

The initial ball was cleared only for Pogba to win a header and direct the ball right to Morata, and the striker made no mistake from the middle of the box, firing his shot beyond Iker Casillas and into the back of the net. Just as he had in the first leg, the 22-year-old would opt not to celebrate out of respect for his former employer despite knowing he had handed the initiative back to his current club.

The Bernabeu fell eerily silent around him, and Real Madrid were suddenly lacking inspiration just when they needed it most. Javier Hernandez replaced Benzema as they searched for a second goal, prompting Allegri to bring on Andrea Barzagli in place of Pirlo and switch to a 3-5-2 formation in order to reinforce the defence.

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It certainly subdued their opponents, and five minutes later Juventus brought on Llorente in place of Morata as Juventus fans began singing the Italian national anthem. It was drowned out in a sea of boos as he left the field however, with their former player hurt by the response of a crowd who once adored him.

“The situation was difficult for me,” Morata told Sport Mediaset after the final whistle (h/t Football Italia). “I didn’t celebrate, I just did my job, I am a Juve player and didn’t deserve that,” he added before dedicating the goal to his family, his agent and his girlfriend in what became a somewhat emotional interview.

Yet it was undoubtedly Real Madrid who suffered the greater pain, missing out on a second successive Champions League final just days after handing the La Liga title to bitter rivals Barcelona. That their misery was completed by their former youth-team player will only compound that grief, and his performance is detailed in the graphic below, courtesy of the FourFourTwo StatsZone app:

His goal—which took his tally to 13 in all competitions this season—came from his only shot on target, while he completed just 15 of his 22 pass attempts (68.2 percent). Morata won one tackle and recovered the ball twice, while statistics from WhoScored.com show he was caught offside three times and won the same number of aerial duels.

Statistically, it was far from his finest display, but it is one that helped the Bianconeri clinch a place in the European Cup final for the first time in 12 years. The club’s director general, Beppe Marotta, perhaps summed up his contribution most succinctly, telling Sport Mediaset (h/t Football Italia) that “Morata scored in both legs, so sank the club he came from. That’s the joy of football.”

Indeed it is, and on June 6, Juventus will hope that Alvaro Morata can make them even more joyful, while Real Madrid can only lament what might have been.