The former Chelsea striker impressed another as Atletico Madrid ran out 1-0 winners.
Former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino says another old Blues hitman Alvaro Morata impressed him with his performance in Atletico Madrid’s 1-0 win over Liverpool last night.
In the Times, Cascarino praised Morata for targeting Joe Gomez and said that the English defender struggled to live with the Spaniard all night.
He said: “If you were watching Alvaro Morata for the first time last night you would think that he is perfectly suited to the Premier League, given that the Atletico Madrid striker is good technically but is also adept in the air and can withstand a strong physical battle.
“The 27-year-old was quite clever against Liverpool because he made sure he was positioned next to Joe Gomez rather than the Englishman’s bigger and more physical defensive partner Virgil van Dijk. He gave Gomez a few problems and the Liverpool centre back was cautioned for fouling him.”
Gomez is a fantastic young defender who has had a great season but he will find himself subjected to this type of treatment from time to time given his partner is van Dijk.
Strikers sometimes won’t fancy their chances against the best central defender in the world and will drift over onto Gomez looking for change.
Gomez wasn’t always in control of that battle last night, but Morata didn’t manage to get on the scoresheet.
The Englishman will have to help stop Morata and co scoring when the tie gets back to Anfield, otherwise Liverpool will need to score three to progress against an Atletico side with a deserved reputation for defensive solidity.
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