Michael Owen made a point of mentioning Marcos Alonso’s efficiency in the final third following his goal for Chelsea against Manchester United last night.
Speaking on Premier League Productions after the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, Owen praised the Spaniard’s skill that sometimes gets overlooked.
Marcos makes his mark against Manchester United
Alonso was very much on target at the Theatre of Dreams yesterday, putting Thomas Tuchel’s team ahead thanks to a picture-perfect first-time strike.
Reece James’ cross fell to the opposite wing-back inside the area and without hesitation, lashed a volley past the despairing David De Gea.
The defender demonstrated technique of the highest order, at a stage in the game where a moment of magic was desperately required.
“How many times have we seen that left foot? It really is a lethal weapon in front of goal,” purred Michael Owen upon watching Alonso’s strike again.
“He gets in a lot of good goal-scoring positions for a full-back, or wing-back.
“When he does get in the positions, he rarely misses. He finds this far corner with regularity. It’s a great finish.”
The Spaniard knows where the net is
Alonso’s accuracy certainly deserves mentioning, even if it is often disregarded.
He has scored three times from his 10 shots on target in the league this season, making him the joint-third highest scoring defender.
The 31-year-old is up to four in total for the term, placing him one behind Antonio Rudiger and two behind Reece James.
James has set the standard for attacking full-backs in the past 12 months, with only really Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joao Cancelo replicating his levels.
But Alonso raised the bar for left-backs following his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge under Antonio Conte where he scored six times on the way to winning the title.
In the following chapter, he topped the goal-scoring charts again for defenders, reaching seven heaven.
Maybe just think twice before criticising Marcos’ output.
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