Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata scored a symbolic hat-trick to put Stoke to the sword less than 24 hours after the club announced the departure of Diego Costa. It was an emphatic statement from Morata after the changing of the guard and showed that Costa should not be missed. Morata has been a revelation since joining from Real Madrid this summer and he has already begun to justify his £58 million price tag. Meanwhile Costa leaves under a cloud of acrimony and will re-join Atletico Madrid, describing it as “his home” in a statement that will further distance him from the hearts of the Stamford Bridge faithful. The big question is: who is the better player?
It is an important question, not for philosophical reasons but for practical ones, because Costa and Morata are rivals for a starting berth in the Spain team. Check the odds at Bookmaker, a well-reviewed and respected site, and you will see that Spain are now the third favourites to win the World Cup at 8/1, behind only holders Germany and Brazil. They have a magnificent team, fresh from beating Italy 3-0 and thumping Liechtenstein 8-0, boasting the likes of Isco, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and David Silva in midfield, and Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique in defence. But their attack is very much up for grabs.
Morata started the Italy game, suggesting he is Spain’s main man up front, and he got on the score sheet. But Julen Lopetegui opted to go for Costa in the Liechtenstein game and he bagged a brace. Not to be outdone, Morata came on for Costa in the 69th minute and scored twice himself, reminding everyone of his phenomenal talents. Costa surprised everyone by opting against representing Brazil, the country of his birth, to instead play for Spain. But Spanish fans must have rejoiced as he was among La Liga’s deadliest strikers and the national team – for all its trophies and plaudits – had lacked a top striker since David Villa went over the hill. He should have nailed down a place for many years, but Spain have been underwhelming ever since, and now Morata has emerged as a real upstart.
Phil Neville gave an interview claiming Chelsea have made a mistake and that Costa is the better player, but that is a hard statement to justify. First of all, Morata is far younger and has not had as much game time. Costa is not going to get any better now, whereas Morata should improve greatly over the coming seasons as he is just 24 and has never really enjoyed an extended run in the first team, despite banging in plenty of goals and winning plenty of trophies at Real Madrid and Juventus.
Secondly, Morata just looks a better player. Costa’s strengths are his physicality, his determination and his uncanny ability to wind up opponents, get under their skin and get the better of them. But technically he has his limitations. He is a decent finisher and pretty good at holding up the ball, but he is not amazing with the ball at his feet and is not too technically gifted. Instead he is more of a battering ram, but a bit of a liability on the disciplinary front. Morata is better in the air, more graceful on the ball and better at link-up play. He goes about his business in a quieter fashion and is not as much of a battler, but his movement and ball control is superior and he seems slightly quicker, so it seems Chelsea have secured an upgrade on Costa and it would not be a surprise to see Morata leading the line for Spain next summer and Costa on the bench.