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Spain put five past Croatia in a thrilling encounter at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen to advance to the quarterfinals of Euro 2020.
Spain started the game in dominant fashion, coming close to opening the scoring numerous times. However, the Spaniards failed to take advantage of their dominance.
The tide shifted quickly as Croatia took the lead in the 20th minute via a horrific Unai Simon mistake. The Spanish goalkeeper failed to control Pedri's back pass, only for the ball to roll into his own net.
After the goal, Spain continued to push and finally got their goal through Pablo Sarabia in the 38th minute.
Much of the second half followed a similar pattern. Ferran Torres assisted one and scored another in the 75th minute to put Spain 3-1 ahead. However, the Spanish celebrations were shortlived as Croatia scored twice in quick succession to take the match into extra time.
Morata then fired a brilliant volley past Dominik Livakovic from a tight angle to give Spain the lead in the 100th minute. Spain doubled their lead three minutes later as substitutes Mikel Oyarzabal and Dani Olmo combined for La Roja's fifth of the night.
Croatia continued to threaten for the rest of the game but failed to register another goal of their own. The game finished 5-3 after extra time in Spain's favor.
On that note, let's take a look at the player ratings from the game.
Croatia Player Ratings:
Dominik Livakovic - 7/10
Made a great save to deny Jose Gaya just before Sarabia's equalizer and kept Croatia alive with his outstanding shot-stopping for much of the match.
Josip Juranovic - 5/10
Failed to deal with Gaya down Croatia's right flank and looked shaky with the ball at his feet. Was rightly taken off for Josip Brekalo in the 73rd minute.
Domagoj Vida - 6/10
Made a brilliant block from a Morata header during the initial stages of the game. However, Vida was reckless in his positioning on a few occasions and failed to contain Spain's attackers.
Duje Caleta-Car - 6/10
Much like his centre-back partner, Caleta-Car didn't have a good game. He was rash in his positioning and overall play throughout the game, hardly surprising considering how good a form the Spanish attackers were in.
Josko Gvardiol - 5/10
It was an abysmal performance from the Croatian left-back. Gvardiol was caught out of position for Spain's third as he left Ferran Torres unmarked on the left-flank. Apart from that he was very poor with his distribution as well.
Luka Modric - 7/10
Modric saw plenty of the ball and dictated play comfortably with his intelligent passing. However, the midfielder failed to make a telling impact like most of his teammates.
Marcelo Brozovic - 5/10
Brozovic was one of Croatia's worst performers on the night. Although flawless with his passing game, the Inter Milan man failed to break up play and conceded a flurry of fouls.
Mateo Kovacic - 6/10
Easily Croatia's best midfielder in a game where they really struggled to express themselves. Withdrawn in the 79th minute to impart more energy and directness into the game.
Nikola Vlasic - 5/10
Guilty of missing a great chance in the first half, Vlasic failed to truly express himself in this game. It's fair to say it wasn't his day today.
Bruno Petkovic - 4/10
Didn't do anything of note for the 45 minutes he was on the pitch. Rightly substituted off for the more dynamic Andrej Kramaric at half-time.
Ante Rebic - 6/10
Made a few good runs here and there but failed to provide the influence he normally does at club level. Was substituted for Mislav Orsic as Croatia chased the game
Substitutes:
Andrej Kramaric - 6/10
Croatia looked much more potent once he came on.
Mislav Orsic - 7/10
Orsic was the protagonist for Croatia's comeback in normal time with a well-taken goal and an assist.
Josip Brekalo - 5/10
Helped provide a better build-up to Croatia's attacks.
Mario Pasalic - 7/10
Showed excellent presence of mind and commitment to head in the equalizer in injury time to take the game into extra time. Was flawless for much of the game since coming on.
Ante Budimir - 5/10
Didn't do anything of significance after replacing Kovacic in the 79th minute.
Luka Ivanusec - N/A
Came on in the 114th minute.
Spain Player Ratings:
Unai Simon - 5/10
Made a horrible mistake for Croatia's opener, failing to control a back pass from Pedri and letting the ball roll into his own net.
Eric Garcia - 6/10
Flawless with the ball at his feet throughout the game, Garcia completed a staggering 96% of his passes and helped Spain progress the ball well.
Aymeric Laporte - 7/10
Showed exactly why he's one of the best centre-backs in world football with a commanding performance. Laporte was nearly flawless and looked like a good addition to Spain's starting lineup.
Cesar Azpilicueta - 7/10
He was defensively solid throughout the game and showed great desire to get Spain ahead with his first ever international goal.
Jose Gaya - 7/10
Gaya was much better and solid defensively than his counterpart Alaba, and that showed as soon as he was substituted. Croatia scored two goals in the space of 15 minutes after he was taken off.
Koke - 7/10
Koke did a decent job. Was spot on with his passing and made a couple of good runs from midfield to aid the attack.
Sergio Busquets - 8/10
Given Man of the Match for his performance, Busquets orchestrated the game perfectly from the middle of the park. His return has brought some much-needed composure to the Spanish midfield.
Pedri - 8/10
The 18-year-old was easily one of Spain's best performers in the match. Didn't look out of place against a star-studded Croatian midfield.
Ferran Torres - 8/10
Provided a brilliant cross for Spain's second and capped his performance off with an excellent goal to put Spain ahead. He was subbed off in the 88th minute.
Alvaro Morata - 7/10
Guilty of missing a few good chances in the first half, Morata did well to revive himself with a well-taken volley for Spain's fourth of the game.
Pablo Sarabia - 7/10
Sarabia caused all sorts of problems for the Croatian defense with his brilliant movement and passing throughout the game. Did well to score Spain's opener.
Substitutes:
Pau Torres - 6.5/10
Provided a sumptuous diagonal ball for Ferran Torres' goal but was shaky at the back to say the least.
Dani Olmo - 8/10
Provided two really good assists off the bench, and was decent in the buildup as well.
Fabian Ruiz - 5/10
Came in on for Koke in the 78th minute, but failed to influence the game quite like the former. Struggled to keep up with the pace of the game in general. Guilty of passing off a good shooting chance in extra time.
Jordi Alba - 5/10
As has been the case all season, Alba was very shaky at the back, to say the least.
Mikel Oyarzabal - 6/10
Did well to stay onside for his goal. Didn't do much apart from that.
