Coppa Italia, Inter-Juventus: Kulusevski or Morata with Ronaldo?

Against Inter Pirlo must choose the second striker. With the Swede and Ronaldo the bianconeri always win, with the Spaniard Cristiano he scored 14 goals out of 20

Alvaro, Dejan, Alvaro, Dejan. Certainly Andrea Pirlo does not choose the formations by lot with a daisy in his hands, but the starting eleven for an important match like that of San Siro tonight is undoubtedly a big headache. The dilemma over Cristiano Ronaldo’s partner is particularly so, with Morata and Kulusevski who have already played the role of Portuguese sidekick this season. So let’s see the performance of the two when they were deployed alongside CR7. Numbers in hand.

–

IMBALANCE

—

One thing immediately catches the eye, namely that between the two the number of matches played with Ronaldo is very different. As is normal, given that the Spaniard is a leading player, he has no other possible positions on the pitch and in addition, the road paved by Paulo Dybala’s absences has been seen. The Swede has often been deployed as a winger or attacking midfielder, with the role of forward valued more as a secondary option. The result is that the Morata-Ronaldo duo started 11 games as an offensive tandem, while Dejan-Cristiano only three: the seasonal debut against Sampdoria in which Alvaro was not yet in Turin, the Super Cup against Napoli with the Spaniard just returned from the pits and the championship match with Bologna which closed the first round. If you add the pairings per game in the race, Alvaro has another 7 game segments in partnership with CR7, while Dejan adds up another 3. In total, 18 games for Morata and 6 for Kulusevski.

–

BEYOND GOALS

—

Even in the production the proportion is quite clear: Kulusevski scored only one goal as a companion of Cristiano’s raids and it was precisely that of the debut against the Sampdoria. The same booty was remedied by Ronaldo, who only scored in the Super Cup with Napoli with the Swede to watch his back. At first glance it would seem a negative spoil, but in the six matches in which Pirlo has joined the two, Juventus has always won (Spezia, Milan and Sassuolo the other three matches with clips of the pairing). In short, the team runs with the two of them in front, even if the goals come often and willingly from other players. Final certificate is Kulusevski’s average grade in these matches: only one failure in the Super Cup final and three times from 7 upwards. In short, the Swede is at ease.

–

FIRE!

—

A completely different type of response on the front of the former Real Madrid, because 14 goals of the 20 total of CR7 arrived with Morata, moreover four on his assist and one on a penalty obtained by Alvaro himself. In short, it seems the Spaniard is the perfect shoulder to exalt Cristiano. And the votes? With such a wide spectrum of matches, the trend is more nuanced, but Morata only got four shortcomings alongside CR7: his debut with Roma, in the defeats against Fiorentina and Inter and in the draw with Atalanta. Performance not excellent balanced, however, by the 6 excellent outputs with report cards from 7 up. Only one fact deserves a curious note. Morata has never scored in the league when joined by Cristiano: he has done so four times in the Champions League and once in the Super Cup, but never in Serie A. In fact, Alvaro’s goals came against Crotone and Benevento in which Ronaldo did not play, against Spezia before he entered and with Parma after his replacement. Who is it against Inter against Inter?

–