Last week, specifically on July 1, Atlético paid Chelsea the 55 million agreed a year ago to complete the transfer of Álvaro Morata. For a year and a half, the Madrid striker has lived on loan at the Atletico club , because it was the only possible formula to undertake the operation. There was no other way for the numbers to come out. In the offices of the Metropolitan they do not forget the rough negotiations with the London leadership. Although not as harsh as those that were necessary to bring Diego Costa back.

For nine days, Morata has been the property of Atlético until 2023. And, things of fate, since then, his sense of smell and his aim seem to have been unleashed. Three goals in the last two games (double against Mallorca and Diana in Balaídos), both as a starter, have returned the focus that he seemed to lose during various phases of the season. If Costa appeared in the restart of LaLiga, after the break due to the coronavirus, now it is he who is more lucid in front of the rival goalkeeper. With the four goals he has signed this month, he already has 12 in the local competition, with three games still ahead until closing. Because Álvaro is a guy who moves between scoring streaks. Your figure may not seem like anything out of this world. However, last season Antoine Griezmann, the team's top league scorer, was no more than 15. 25% of the goals of the rojiblanco team (47) are now his own.

In this first complete season with Simeone, everything has happened to Morata. That silly expulsion in Mallorca , with two yellow cards in two minutes, that prevented him from playing the derby against Real Madrid. His superb streak in the autumn with six goals in six games (two in the Champions League), with the odd blur. A couple of untimely injuries, at the start of the course and the delicate month of February. And, above all, that unforgettable extension in Anfield, where he ended up kneeling in front of Atlético's fans, asking for forgiveness for things from his white past, after sealing his team's pass to the Champions League quarter-handed. His iconic gesture after scoring was the last and fond memory of athletic supporters, before the coronavirus stopped it all.

Partnership with Llorente

And that in Liverpool, Morata, who was playing, played only a quarter of an hour. But there he found the one who seems to be his best attacker right now: Marcos Llorente . In that brief space of time, the striker assisted the midfielder for the draw and, almost at sunset, Llorente returned the gift to his teammate at Real Madrid. The fact is that this society, oblivious to the break, continues to be one of Atlético's best solutions to reach the goal. Before Osasuna, in Pamplona, ​​and against Mallorca, a week ago, the tip took advantage of two other gifts from what is now his best partner. Both understand each other with their eyes.

During his year and a half at Atlético, Morata has seamlessly absorbed his coach's commandments, guilty that the striker ended up at his side, after a frustrated first attempt in the summer of 2016. In the time since that first afternoon in the Benito Villamarin (3 February 2019) has scored 22 goals in 57 games, two fewer than he managed with Chelsea, London only needed 15 more games. In Juventus he went on to score 27, including that of the 2015 Champions League final, in 93 duels and in Real Madrid he went until 31, only in 95 clashes. That is to say, that dressed in rojiblanco has drawn the best scoring average of his career: somewhat every two and a half games.

In the Metropolitano, Álvaro seems to have found the calm and respect he was looking for in his career. He is among the highest paid in the squad, with a salary of more than seven million, and has weight in the locker room, where his friendship since childhood with Koke, the captain, facilitated his acclimatization. Personally, he counts the days for Edoardo , his third son, to fill a little more the home he shares with the Italian model and 'influencer' Alice Campello and the twins Alessandro and Leonardo. Who knows if tonight, against Betis (22.00), he will be the one to put the stamp on Atlético's ticket for the next Champions League.

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  • Real Madrid
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  • Marcos Llorente
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