He was better positionally than Moreno ever will be.
He was less error-prone than Moreno, true, the similaity between them for me is in their one-dimensionality on the ball.
Riise played in teams that prioritised defensive solidity though, to see the importance of that just look at how every player who gets minutes in our defence currently look much better than in our defence last season.
It was great what Riise managed to achieve in his career, he made the absolute most out of his talent. That doesn´t mean he was a particularly good footballer though, relative to what has been the standard at the club. When the team evolved to the next level under Rafa he became surplus to requirements, which I don´t think was a coincidence. He was much more of a Houllier than a Rafa type of player.
Felt really sorry for him for that Chelsea mistake, to be fair.