Morata loving life after Bridging past, the present
Remarkable turnaround for Chelsea striker
Just a month ago, Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata wore a dejected expression and looked bereft of self-belief.
Unreliable with his back to goal and the ball at his feet, it seemed as though Chelsea playmakers Eden Hazard, Willian and Pedro preferred to work with the steadier, less combustible figure of Olivier Giroud as a target man up front.
There was media speculation that Chelsea, uncertain whether they could maintain their English Premier League title challenge with a nongoalscoring centre-forward, would be offloading Morata in the January transfer window.
The transformation has been extraordinary in the last four weeks. Morata appeared sharp, busy and hungry on Sunday as he took his tally to four goals in four league games, one more than in his previous 23 games in the competition, with two goals in Chelsea’s 3-1 win over Crystal Palace.
“I am really very happy for Alvaro,” Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri said. “He improved in the last month in confidence and personality. He improved also from a tactical ■ and technical point of view.”
Sarri believes Morata is finally showing the form that persuaded Chelsea to pay a club record fee of about £60 million to tempt the Spanish striker away from Real Madrid 18 months ago. “Potentially he can be [a top striker],” Sarri said. “He has great potential physically and technically. He can improve more. Sometimes he is a little bit fragile.”
Hazard also seems delighted with Morata’s recent resurgence. The Belgium forward sported a wide grin when he hugged his teammate after producing the free kick that led to Morata’s second goal against Palace.
Morata almost ended up with three goals but was unable to lift the ball over Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey when he went clean through in the closing stages.