Inspirational, lifestyle, News, and everything in the middle
Alvaro Morata vs Romelu Lukaku both enter Chelsea-Man United on barren runs
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
Alvaro Morata and Romelu Lukaku face each other for Chelsea and
Manchester United on Sunday having seen their sensational starts to the
season for their new clubs evaporate -- both go into the Stamford Bridge
clash without a goal since September.
The two strikers were
central to one of the transfer sagas of the summer, with United ditching
their interest in signing Morata from Real Madrid to hijack Chelsea's
attempt to take Lukaku back to the club from Everton.
And in the
opening weeks of the season, it appeared that both Chelsea and United
had hit the jackpot with their purchases, with Morata scoring seven
goals in his first eight games in all competitions for Antonio Conte's
team and Lukaku hitting 11 in 10 outings for Jose Mourinho's side.
But
since the end of September, the goals have dried up and both have seen
their momentum halted by injuries, which has led to a loss of form.
In Morata's case, the Spaniard has raised doubts over his long-term
commitment to Chelsea by claiming in the Italian media earlier this week
-- before hastily backtracking in a Champions League news conference in
Rome the following day -- that he cannot envisage a length stay in
London.
Lukaku, meanwhile, find himself at the centre of a public
spat between Mourinho and the United supporters, with the Old Trafford
manager defending the Belgium forward against what he perceives to be a
lack of backing for the player.
A goal for either Morata or Lukaku
would help change the landscape, but as the stats show, it is not just
in front of goal that two of the most expensive strikers in the world
have been falling short.
Each player has seen their all-round
contribution dip during the barren month of October, so will November be
any different unless they get their on-field numbers back to the levels
of early season?
In terms of shots, Morata managed an average of 3.4 per game during
his run of seven goals in eight matches. In the six games since, his
shot rate has dropped to 1.8 per game.
When it comes to shots on
target, Morata has gone from 1.3 per game during his goal run to 0.7
over the six matches he has failed to hit the back of the net.
Lukaku's
drop has been even more noticeable, with the United striker having an
average of 4.2 shots per game during his 10-match scoring streak before
dropping 1.8 in his last six games.
His shots on target rate has
also dropped from 2.4 per game to 0.7, so it is clear to see why both
Morata and Lukaku are finding it difficult to score -- neither of them
are shooting on goal enough.
Their work rate has also declined,
with Morata dropping from an average of 30.4 touches per game to 25.3
during his goalless run.
Lukaku's numbers show a similar drop, going from 34.7 touches per game to 29.5.
In the penalty area, it is the same story. Morata has gone from 5.1
to 3.7 touches per game; Lukaku's contribution has dropped by more than
half from 5.9 penalty area touches to 2.8 -- a stat perhaps backing up
the frustrations of some United fans who believe that he does not
contribute enough when not scoring.
Both men are also creating fewer chances -- 1.0 to 0.7 per game for Morata; 1.6 to 1.2 for Lukaku.
In
defence of both strikers, the opposition faced by Chelsea and United
during their goalless six games has been generally stronger than in the
early weeks of the season.
Chelsea faced Manchester City and Roma
twice during that run, failing to win any of those three fixtures, while
United have taken on Liverpool and Tottenham -- scoring just once in
180 minutes against their two top-six rivals.
But ultimately, neither Morata nor Lukaku were signed by their clubs to endure long runs without scoring.
They
are the men tasked with delivering match-winning strikes in the
tightest of games and both know that doing so on Sunday would be the
perfect way to silence the critics.
The "bestial" murder of two young women in Morocco is being investigated as a terrorism attack, Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said. Three men were arrested on Thursday over the murder of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway. The pair were found dead from knife wounds near a popular tourist spot on Monday. At least one of the suspects has been linked to an Islamist extremist group. One person had already been arrested on Monday, hours after the bodies of the two women were discovered with injuries to their necks. Police also supplied photos of the three other suspects, prompting a 72-hour manhunt. Moroccan news outlet 2M said they were shepherds, and had been arrested in the city of Marrakesh on Thursday morning. After the prime minister's statement, Denmark's PET intelligence agency said it was investigating a video circulating online, which appeared to show one of the two women being murder...
The plane crashed into a wall separating the airport from a residential area and then hit a house A cargo plane crash near the Iranian capital, Tehran, has killed 15 people, Iran's army says. The Boeing 707 came off the runway and hit a residential area while trying to land at Fath airport in Karaj, 40km (25 miles) west of Tehran, in poor weather. Only a flight engineer of the 16 people on board was found alive, with no-one reportedly killed on the ground. The plane's "black box" voice recorder has been found at the crash site, local media reported. Only the plane's flight engineer is known to have survived An army spokesman confirmed to state TV that the plane belonged to Iran, and that all those on board were Iranian citizens. Fath airport belongs to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps, and is located in the central Iranian province of Alborz. The cargo aircraft w...
Manchester United are fifth in the Premier League, a mere five points back of Manchester City for the coveted final Champions League place. On top of that, they have a match in hand. The Red Devils are right there in their pursuit of that glorious top four, and yet it might be time for them to put that chase aside. It might be time for Manchester United to forget the top four and focus on the Europa League. At this point, all that really matters is qualifying for the Champions League. On top of the tens of millions of pounds that every team gets from qualifying for it, Manchester United reportedly could miss out on significant marketing dollars if they fail to make Europe’s top competition for a second consecutive year. And then there’s the simple fact that Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world, can’t really call themselves that if they’re not in the Champions League for the third time in four seasons. Manchester United need to make the Ch...
Comments
Post a Comment