The Spanish team left the Metropolitan with a bittersweet taste in the mouth. The positive parts were the game that Luis Enrique’s men signed against Portugal , current European champions, and once again feeling the warmth of the public in the stands. 14,743 spectators saw the match live, precisely these were the causes of souring the night for the national team. After a good match where only the goal was missing, everyone’s team had to endure how a sector of the stands rebuked Álvaro Morata for crashing a ball over the crossbar in injury time.
The Metropolitan attacked Morata with chants in the final stretch of the game. After missing the opportunity in the final minutes, the fans responded with shouts against the attacker. “How bad you are, Morata how bad you are!” Was heard from the stands. The reality is that the Madrilenian had not been successful in the face of goal, but he had taken a real beating fighting with the Portuguese defenders. A missed opportunity that would have allowed Spain to win the game, but that should not tarnish the work of a forward who gave everything to help his teammates.
After the match, both Luis Enrique and Fabián Ruiz supported the forward publicly , but within the dressing room the support was also maximum. “He has worked a lot, he has made a great play of 40 meters at maximum speed, finishing off the crossbar with all the accumulated effort of the match. It has not stopped pestering Portugal. It is to leave the stumps applauding “, explained the coach. Nobody doubts Morata and all the members of the Spanish team are with the Madrilenian.
The discomfort was noticeable after the meeting and on the day after. In the Media Center of the City of Soccer of Las Rozas, they continued to regret what happened. Everyone wanted the fans to return, but no one expected a Spanish player to be attacked. Although this is not new for the national team, the last example was lived with Gerard Piqué, it is the first time that a footballer like Morata has suffered it, who has always been at the service of Spain. However, from the dressing room of the national team it is transmitted that the Juventus player is strong in the head and is very motivated with the Eurocup that will begin in a few days. In addition, this unpleasant episode has been taken as a positive aspect of the template union. While confidence in the team is scarce among fans and the press, Luis Enrique’s boys have come together to grow as a group.
Scorer and much more
Luis Enrique is delighted with Morata . The Asturian likes the sacrifice of a striker who wears out in battles with rival defenses, who is able to hold the ball up and combine with his teammates. He is much more than a scorer, although he also does so many. Specifically, he has 19 in the 40 caps he has been with the Spanish team. A fact that, if compared with the great forwards of other countries, such as Cristiano, Benzema or Kane, only English had better numbers than Spanish with the same games.
In Spain, Villa and Morientes had better numbers than Morata when he reached 40 games. The Asturian had 23 goals, while the Extremaduran 25. On the other hand, Raúl had 18 and Fernando Torres 14 . Statistics that, contrary to what it may seem, show that the Madrilenian has a lot of goal in his boots and will try to show it in a European Championship that will be his second final phase after that of 2016, where he scored three of the five goals of the national team .
