It’s taken the best part of 10 months for Alfredo Morelos, but the enigmatic striker has finally ended his goal drought and broken his duck for Santos.
Six-months after signing for the Brazilian giants, El Bufalo has opened his account against Serie A side Sao Paulo with his last goals coming against St Mirren at Ibrox in April last year.
After leaving Rangers and having a disastrous 2023, Alfredo Morelos will be hoping that his first goal of the campaign can bring a new start for Santos.
Alfredo Morelos gets off the mark for Santos
The 27-year old had already made an impact with a slide rule assist in an earlier appearance but, after coming off the bench, stepped up to score the winner from the spot.
For those that have erased it from their memory, the last time Morelos took a penalty was the ill-fated 2019 league cup final when he should have went home with a winners medal and the match ball.
Fraser Forster saved the spot-kick and the rest is history.
Five years later and Morelos chose a different side and he will be glad to just get off the mark for Santos.
The only way that he is going to climb back up the footballing ladder – not that there is anything wrong with being at a huge club like Santos – is by keeping fit, scoring goals and proving that he still has what it takes to be a top striker.
What he did to Borussia Dortmund’s defence in 2022 isn’t quite a distant memory but the thigh injury he suffered after such a big high has seen him struggle to replicate anything similar since – he was never exactly a grafter on the training ground.
It might “only” be a penalty, but it’s a start, Santos’ X account posting “El Bufalo is the name” to mark the occasion.
He returned to the status of being a matchwinner and a buzz that he would almost have forgotten what it was like to experience.
El Bufalo is back!
