Tearful Morata ends his drought
FOR so long it looked like yet another of those nights for Alvaro Morata, with more missed chances, a thick lip and a yellow card to show for his efforts.
Frustration simmered but in the 70th minute, Cesc Fabregas clipped a pass forwards to Willian, who nodded it square across goal and Morata pounced with a swish of his right boot and his half-volley rippled the net.
The striker welled up as Stamford Bridge cheered, in relief as much as anything. No one enjoyed seeing him toil as he had through his crisis of confidence.
The £70million record signing looked to be on the brink of tears as he hugged his team-mates in a muted celebration.
The relief must have been enormous. Before last night he had one goal this season and only four in his last 32 Chelsea appearances.
This was his 13th effort in the Europa League this season and the first on target. Hardly a strike-rate to have them quaking across the continent but this was an emotional day for Morata — recalled to the Spain squad and back among the goals.
‘If he wants to cry after scoring a goal, I hope to see him cry very often,’ said Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri. ‘I am very happy for him. It’s very important for him to score and to play well — and he has played a very good match. He played for his team-mates.
‘ I think he can restart from this performance. He has played very well. Better than in the last period.
‘He has to be confident. For us he is a very important player. We have Alvaro and Olivier Giroud but we have to play every three days for a long time, I hope, and so he is very important.’
Morata was not the only player guilty of wasting chances against Vidi. The tone was set by left back Emerson Palmieri, who carved through the Hungarian ranks until the goal opened up before him, only to blaze over.
Willian, Pedro and Mateo Kovacic missed good openings and Davide Zappacosta buried a shot high into the top tier of the Shed End from the edge of the penalty area.
Morata received a pass from Pedro and seemed to do everything according to the textbook as he lost his marker, shifted the ball neatly from under his feet and clipped a shot over onrushing goalkeeper Tomas Tujvel.
He seemed as surprised as everyone else to see his effort drift wide. Cameras panned to centre forward Giroud, dressed in his civvies and watching from the stands.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, making his first Chelsea start since January 2017, thought he deserved a penalty when he was hauled down by Paulo Vinicius after a strong run.
‘Stonewall,’ said Gary Cahill, although the Chelsea captain was fortunate not to be punished for a trip on Georgi Milanov, who was inches outside the area but clean through on goal.
‘A questionable decision, for sure,’ said Vidi boss Marko Nikolic, who was proud that his unfancied team had given the Londoners a fright.
Nine minutes into the second half, Sarri had seen enough and sent on Eden Hazard, who lifted the tempo with his jinking dribbles and quick passes.
Finally Morata was rewarded for his persistence with his goal, smartly taken, and only his fifth in the calendar year.
Substitute Ross Barkley glanced a header against the woodwork before Chelsea keeper Kepa was forced to make saves as Vidi threatened on the break.
Sarri grumbled about his side’s vulnerability at the back but Chelsea banked another three points to take control of Group L and can at last take satisfaction from a goal to blow away Morata’s blues.