Why goal-shy Spain need to ditch fragile Morata for in-form Moreno

 

It was a moment that summed up Alvaro Morata's night. As he sought to keep a Spain attack alive, he inadvertently rolled the ball out of play for a Sweden goal kick. Luis Enrique had already made the decision to haul off the Juventus man midway through the second half, but the timing wasn't ideal for the striker. 

 

Morata, like Spain, endured a frustrating night in Seville. Having spurned a glorious chance with five minutes of the first half remaining, the Juventus man was booed by sections of the Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla. It was one of three opportunities Morata failed to test Robin Olsen with in their 0-0 draw with Sweden. 

 

Having mustered 85% possession and completed 829 passes to Sweden's 89 in the stalemate, La Roja must have felt they had done enough to secure an opening Group E win on Monday night. Yet they did everything but put the ball in the back of the net, in part due to the performance of Olsen between the Sweden sticks, but it was also down to their own wastefulness. 

 

 

For all they saw of the ball, Spain created just 12 goalscoring chances across the 90 minutes, a low return all things considered. It was all Tika and no Taka for Enrique's side. What Spain ultimately lacked was a consistent focal point to spearhead the charge against Sweden. After being booed by fans in the 0-0 draw with Portugal earlier this month, the pressure was already on Morata to make a statement start to Euro 2020. 

 

The 28-year-old is the ultimate confidence striker. When things are going well for Morata, then the goals flow, but one clear miss and the Spaniard closes back into his shell. In tournament football, this is hardly ideal, particularly when a goalscorer of Gerard Moreno's calibre is waiting in the wings. In just 16 minutes against Sweden, Moreno (1) managed more shots on target than Morata in 66. 

 

Enrique made a huge call in starting Morata and not Moreno against Spain and one can appreciate the reasoning behind the decision. Morata is a striker who will run the channels in an attempt to drag markers out of position, freeing up space for the support act to capitalise and this selfless approach has won him plenty of admirers. 

 

Had Spain beat Sweden on Monday, then Morata's indifferent showing would have been forgotten, yet the stalemate meant the media spotlight was focussed on the Juventus man and with La Roja needing to beat Poland on Saturday to boost their chances of securing a last-16 spot, many are calling for Moreno to come into the side. 

 

In total, Moreno had a direct hand in 40 league and European goals for Villarreal last season, netting 30 times, as the Yellow Submarine secured Europa League glory at Manchester United's expense. Only Lionel Messi (30) scored more goals than Moreno (23) in Spain's top tier and many expected the 29-year-old to lead the charge for Spain this summer.  

 

 

Enrique's thinking behind his decision could also have been Morata's ability to bring others into play. Moreno may have ended the league season with seven assists to his name, yet only five provided more than Morata (9) in Serie A. The latter also returned 1.8 key passes per 90 for Juventus in 2020/21, a minor improvement on Moreno's 1.5. Flanked by Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres against Sweden, Spain should have had enough quality in the final to get the better of Janne Andersson's side. 

 

There is also the possibility of starting both Morata and Moreno in their familiar 4-3-3 setup. The latter is adept at coming off the right in his pursuit of goal and it could be that he replaces Torres, and not the former, in attack. Given Morata's penchant for pulling wide, Moreno, who scored more big chances (18) than any other player player in La Liga last season, would benefit from this space in front of the opposition goal to add to his superb club return in 2020/21. 

 

Either way, Enrique has a major decision in attack on his hands for the meeting with Poland on Saturday. He can't afford another slip up in the manner of the Sweden draw and while Spain have traditionally started tournaments slowly, failure to win this weekend will only increase the pressure on the 51-year-old, particularly if he elects to start Morata and use Moreno sparingly.

Why goal-shy Spain need to ditch fragile Morata for in-form Moreno