MORATA WITH
PREMIER LEAGUE ACTION Striker rises to the challenge after Blues’ clear-the-air chat
IT’S good to talk they say, and Chelsea yesterday showed the benefit of getting stuff off their chests.
For weeks it had seemed the relationship between Antonio Conte and his men was slipping towards divorce.
They were trained too hard, bored with the routines and sick of his criticism, came the word out of the champions’ camp.
But following the horror 3-0 defeat at Roma on Tuesday, boss Conte held clear-the-air talks.
Yesterday they did not stink the place out at Stamford Bridge, as they have been doing.
Instead, they rubbed former boss Jose Mourinho’s face it in again, inflicting a third defeat at the Bridge in just over a year, with no Manchester United goals scored.
The Chelsea players’ sudden rekindling of enthusiasm for their manager will not have been lost on Mourinho.
Two years ago tomorrow they lost 1-0 at Stoke, having made a pathetic start to the defence of their title under Mourinho.
Yesterday this fully-committed victory suggested there was not going to be a ‘deja blue’, ending with a early exit for their boss.
Striker Alvaro Morata’s goal saw them stay fourth but just a point behind second-placed United.
The Blues were buzzing from the start and Phil Jones volleyed in Marcus Alonso’s cross into his own net in the seventh minute but was ruled to have been shoved by Morata first.
Marcus Rashford met a header following a cross from the left by Antonio Valencia but got undeneath the ball and nodded it onto the roof of the net.
Excellent
Thibaut Courtois beat out a well-struck shot from Romelu Lukaku and the excellent Eden Hazard hit an even firmer left-foot drive which David De Gea pushed away.
Danish centre-back Andreas Christensen should have done better when he flew in to aim his head at a Cesc Fabregas corner but sent it well over.
Hazard was next to fail to take advantage, finding himself free in the box in the 53rd minute but sweeping a pass from Fabregas on the half-volley straight into the arms of De Gea.
The goal, when it came in the 55th minute, was at last a perfect execution and came after Henrikh Mkhitaryan lost possession upfield.
Suddenly Untied were exposed down their left flank and Cesar Azpilicueta was able to gain yards with ease.
He looked up and saw the run of Morata and supplied a floated ball for the Spanish centreforward to power a header across De Gea and into the far corner.
It was the fifth time this season he had supplied an assist for his fellow Spaniard.
At the end of the match, United had their ‘dream’ front three of Rashford, Lukaku and Anthony Martial on.
But the closest any came to scoring was when Rashford half-volleyed just wide late on.
Coutois denied Marouane Fellaini from 10 yards as United pressed frantically. But once again it proved a Bridge too far for Mourinho and it would have been worse but for Morata failing when clean through in time added on.
He now finds his team trailing unbeaten Manchester City by eight points and under a bit of pressure himself, with star striker Lukaku goalless in seven matches. CHELSEA (3-4-2-1): Courtois 7; Azpilicueta 8, Christensen 7, Cahill 7; Zappacosta 7 (Rudiger 66, 7), Bakayoko 7, Kante 8, Alonso 7; Fabregas 7 (Drinkwater 79), HAZARD 8 (Willian 87); Morata 7. Subs: Caballero, Pedro, Batshuayi, Ampadu. UP NEXT: West Brom (a), Premier League, Saturday November 18. MAN UNITED (3-4-1-2): De Gea 7; Bailly 6, Smalling 6, Jones 6 (Martial 63, 5); VALENCIA 7, Herrera 6, Matic 6, Young 7 (Lingard 78); Mkhitaryan 5 (Fellaii 63, 5); Lukaku 5, Rashford 6. Subs: Romero, Blind, Darmian, McTominay. UP NEXT: Newcastle (h), Premier League, Saturday November 18. Referee: Anthony Taylor 6. YOUR TURN: Which striker grabbed United’s winner the last time they beat Chelsea away, 3-2 in October 2012?