In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Spanish boss Julen Lopetegui followed the lead of England in announcing the 23 players following him to Russia for the world cup. La Roja are aiming for their 4th in a decade with head coach Lopetegui choosing a strong side. Why other selection were welcomed by the football world, a major omission was seen in the list. Alvaro Morata despite his 13 goals in 23 game appearance for La Roja was dropped for Rodrigo Moreno. The Chelsea record signing no doubt have been out of touch since the beginning of 2018 year with Alvaro Morata only managing 15 goals in 47 appearances for the London based outfit since his summer move from Real Madrid, this situation has increased losses among Big Free Bets players, that stacks on him. The former Juventus striker being aware of slack performance could only take in good faith by wishing the team best of luck in the competition.
The former Real Madrid’s center forward began the Premier league season in a bang with strings of consistency with Morata justifying his 60 million pounds price tag. The former Juventus player seems to have given away his scoring boots at the beginning of 2018 as his lost form in front of goal. The Spaniard’s passion and work rate began to drop within the passage of the each week of the New Year. Morata with the backing of Antonio Conte failed to return to scoring ways and this had a tune effect on the blues performance until the Italian took a bold step against Southampton. The club record signing have since then played second fiddle to Olivier Giroud.
Alvaro Morata will need to evolve from his predictable shell that limited him last season. The absence will give him the require freshness, fitness and time to reinvent himself as a world class striker who can leave up to the challenges in big games. The Spaniard during his days at the Bernebeu played second fiddle to Karim Benzema despite the wayward nature of the French center forward in front of goal. This was due to partly what Benzema brings to the team aside goals. Morata’s team play contribution is really below par as he hardly contributes to Chelsea’s offensive play. His inability to link up players with players such as Hazard, Willian and Pedro in the final third have also been a strong factor. Morata lacks foot work, power and precision when in possession of the ball and this have removed the fear factor from opponents assigned to mark him in games. His weakness in aerial ball is another factor which he must address. Bakayoko was one of the most criticized Chelsea player last season but the Frenchman seems to be adjusting as he played a crucial role in FA cup triumph on Sunday. Morata needs to reinvent himself as world class center forward he has been tipped to be.
David de Gea is expected to start ahead of Pepe Reina in goal after another fine season at Manchester united. Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique is expected to continue the partnership at the heart of the defense. Dani Carvajal and Jordi Alba are also expected to occupy the full position. A Midfield trio of Sergio Busquet, Andres Iniesta and David Silva will be anticipated while Koke, Thiago Alcantara, Saul Niguez and Isco will be there to provide other alternatives. Morata’s absence could mean that huge responsibility will be on Diego Costa to deliver when called upon. Morata however is not the only player to be omitted as Nacho Monreal was preferred to Marcos Alonso in the left full back position.
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