Two years ago, in the middle of the global Covid crisis, the 2019/20 Champions League season ended on a strange and sour note for Atletico Madrid. Playing in a so-called bubble in Lisbon, with no fans allowed and surrounded by emptiness, Diego Simeone’s red and whites crashed out at the quarter-final stage after losing to Leipzig. It was a breaking point for Alvaro Morata.After years of transfers, loans, poor judgements and wandering around, the Spanish striker was supposed to be the season where former Real Madrid talent would finally become a household name at the top level. He joined Simenone’s red and white army, had high hopes, but ended the campaign with a 21-minute cameo in that defeat at the hands of the German Red Bulls. He decided he wanted out. Simeone had preferred the much more robust Diego Costa all season, pushing Morata towards the exit door again.📲| Álvaro Morata on Instagram: “What a beautiful feeling! 🔴⚪️🔴⚪️” pic.twitter.com/4JrSea7VNf— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) August 15, 2022 A curious two-year loan deal was arranged with Juventus, and Morata was off to Italy, leaving El Cholo to re-engineer his attacking machine. And it worked out for the best. Atletico signed Luis Suarez from Barcelona and went on to win the title in the 2020/21 season, while Morata found his feet in Serie A. But now he’s back in red and white, trying to prove his doubters wrong.Although Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri wanted to extend the 29-year-old’s stay in Turin and thus provide their new goalscorer Dusan Vlahovic with tutorship and backup, the Spaniard was cold on the idea and instead returned to the Spanish capital.##NAJAVA_MECA_6564140##A fine pre-season, work ethic and dedication instantly promoted Morata to Atletico’s first-choice striker ahead of the new season. And he was on the scoresheet just 15 minutes into Atletico’s La Liga opening match at Getafe. Morata combined will with Joao Felix and got his second goal on the hour at Atleti ran out comfortable 3-0 winners on Monday night. Perhaps it’s a start of a partnership that can propel Los Colchoneros to another title challenge. The young Portuguese praised the pair’s chemistry following the match.”We’re connecting well. We are all ready to play, so there is a lot of competition for places. We all want to play, which will benefit the team.”🎙| Álvaro Morata: “I will always give everything on the pitch. There can be days when I play better or worse, but I will always give everything for my teammates and for this shirt, that’s for sure.” pic.twitter.com/ENqLDhNde9— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) August 15, 2022 Diego Simeone seems to have full trust in the experienced striker – much to the Atletico faithful’s delight.
