Alvaro Morata bags brace in Spain rout over Liechtenstein

Alvaro Morata helped himself to a double, with Iago Aspas also scoring twice, as Spain routed Liechtenstein 8-0 in their World Cup qualifier in Vaduz.

Julen Lopetegui’s side came into the game on the back of an impressive 3-0 win over Italy at the weekend, all but securing their passage to next summer’s World Cup, and so there was never any real doubt that they would see off the minnows in this test on foreign soil.

Sergio Ramos opened the scoring after 12 minutes with a header and beyond that Spain had it all their own way, almost scoring at will as Morata and Aspas made the most of the opportunities they were given.

There were also goals for David Silva and Isco, with an own goal completing the scoring as Spain took another step towards qualifying for the World Cup. Lopetegui’s side are finding their identity and their form at exactly the right time.

In reality, this game was over as soon as Ramos scored the opener after 12 minutes. After that, it was simply a case of how many Spain would score, with Liechtenstein struggling to make it into the opposition half. So what is the point in these qualifiers? Should countries like Liechtenstein be forced to play qualifiers before the qualifiers? This is no fun for anyone.

The Chelsea striker missed out on the 3-0 win over Italy on Saturday, but was given his chance to shine against the minnows of Liechtenstein, and he didn’t allow that chance to pass him by. Morata makes Spain a very different team, giving them a very clear focal point of attack. He scored twice and could have grabbed a hat-trick had the linesman not wrongly flagged for offside when he found the net with a header in the first half.

Liechteinstein - Jehle 6, Quintans 5, Malin 4, Kaufmann 5, Goppel 4, Buchel 5, Salanovic 5, Hasler 4, Wieser 5, Burgmeier 4, Polverino 4. Subs - Yildiz 5, Wolfinger 5, Sele 5.

Spain - De Gea 5, Pique 5, Ramos 7, Monreal 6, Iniesta 7, Busquets 7, Thiago 6, Isco 7, Pedro 6, Morata 8, Silva 7. Subs - Aspas 7, Nacho 6, Deulofeu 6.

12’ GOAL! Liechtenstein 0-1 Spain: Well, there's the first goal and unsurprisingly it's gone the way of Spain. The freekick was floated into the area and Ramos leaped highest to get on the end of it, heading into the net with the goalkeeper missing.

15’ GOAL! Liechtenstein 0-2 Spain: There's the second goal for Spain! Iniesta plays a one-two for Isco, with the Barcelona man playing a chipped cross for Morata, who heads home into the far corner.

16’ GOAL! Liechtenstein 0-3 Spain: Well, that's just a bit embarrassing for Jehle. He completely misses his kick, allowing Morata to nip in and set up Isco for the finish into the empty net. Spain have a 3-0 lead.

39’ GOAL! Liechtenstein 0-4 Spain: There's the fourth goal of the game for Spain and what a beauty it is! Silva whips a left footed freekick towards goal and finds the top corner of the Liechteinsten net. Great strike.

50’ GOAL! Liechtenstein 0-5 Spain: Well, Spain have their fifth goal of the night, but Morata realy should have scored it himself. He headed against the bar from close range, and Aspas was on hand to finish from close range.

53’ GOAL! Liechtenstein 0-6 Spain: Morata gets his second goal of the night, controlling a wonderful pass from Aspas and essentialy walking it into the net. This is becoming a real mauling now.

62’ GOAL! Liechtenstein 0-7 Spain: So this game is definitely heading towards double figures, if you ask me. Aspas rounds the keeper from a tight angle and fires home a finish at the near post.

89’ GOAL! Lichtenstein 0-8 Spain: That's unfortunate for the home side. Deulofeu crosses first time into the box, but Goppel gets his feet all wrong and deflects the ball into his own net.

Spain scored more than seven goals in an away game for the first time ever.

Iago Aspas has been involved in five goals in his five international games for Spain.

Spain have scored 36 goals under Julen Lopetegui, 13 of them thanks to David Silva.