Alvaro Morata Hints at Giorgio Chiellini Dive After Disallowed Goal in UCL Win

Alvaro Morata believes Giorgio Chiellini went down too easily in the buildup to his disallowed goal during Atletico Madrid's 2-0 win over Juventus in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. 

Morata, 26, looked to have opened the scoring for his new club at the Wanda Metropolitano, only for the goal to be chalked off by VAR after the Spaniard was adjudged to have pushed Chiellini before heading home. 

Late strikes from Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin secured a deserved victory for Atleti over the Italian champions in the last-16 first leg (US only):

But Morata, who spent two seasons at Juve before returning to Real Madrid in 2016, was understandably aggrieved that he was denied his opening goal for Atleti, per Rai Sport (h/t Football Italia):

"It's a very important victory because Juventus are one of the best teams in the world. It won't be easy in Turin. I celebrated my goal here because it meant so much to me, but I'd never do it again. I wanted to greet my former fans, who did a lot for me.

"Chiellini? If he did to me what I did to him, it wouldn't have been a penalty. I'd need much more to throw Chiellini to the ground. In return leg you can never say never. We must go there with belief."

Morata joined Atleti on an 18-month loan deal from Chelsea in January.

He has yet to open his account for the club, but he has twice been denied by VAR. He was also stripped of a goal he scored against Real in La Liga on February 9.

The striker was not the only one baffled by the decision to disallow his goal against Juve, as Chiellini went down under little pressure:

Morata did not start against the Old Lady in Madrid but was sent on as a second-half substitute for Diego Costa.

Costa will miss the second leg through suspension after picking up a yellow card early in the contest, so Morata could be in the starting XI for the return leg at the Allianz Stadium on March 12.

Atleti have secured themselves a comfortable lead in the tie, but they will need to be at their best again if they are to advance to the quarter-finals at the expense of one of the pre-tournament favourites.