Alvaro Morata’s brace ensured that Chelsea extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to 11 games with a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace last weekend. Morata scored in both halves and Pedro added a third in the 70th-minute to cap off a dominant display by the Blues. Maurizio Sarri’s men moved to second in the standings with the win over the Eagles, just a couple of points behind league leaders Manchester City.
It has been a wonderful start to the season for Chelsea under new manager Maurizio Sarri. So much so, the Blues are the only team in the top flight to remain unbeaten across all competitions. After a disappointing season under Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri has played a massive role in rejuvenating the club with some new faces in the transfer window, getting them back in the race for the Premier League crown.
Amidst the air of positivity prevailing at Stamford Bridge this season, Alvaro Morata is perhaps the only player who has found himself at the receiving end of a lot of criticism. The Spaniard underwhelmed in the first few games of the season with some below-par displays in front of goal which forced Sarri to place Olivier Giroud ahead of him in the pecking order.
Morata was proving to be nothing short of a glaring liability to the Blues, a white elephant that they had so enthusiastically bought for a club-record £70 million last season. His barren spell in the Premier League was bound to cause the manager major headaches.
The Spaniard got off to a fine start in the Premier League last season but gradually faded away as the season progressed. He looked nowhere near his best this term, losing possession far too easily and squandering valuable opportunities in front of goal.
However, things have changed in recent weeks, much to the relief of the fans and the manager, who seems to have cast a spell on him to improve his performances significantly. Morata has scored four goals in his last four Premier League outings for Chelsea, including the brace against Palace this weekend. He was exceptionally poor against Manchester United and Derby County in the Carabao Cup but few can argue that he has shown significant signs of improvement.
The 26-year-old seems to have regained his confidence in recent weeks. It was a treat to see him find the net with a deft finish against Burnley and what he did against Palace was even better. He showed good awareness and controlled the ball superbly in tight areas to score from a narrow angle. It was not only about the goals that he scored but he showed a marked improvement in his work-rate off the ball.
As opposed to his performances earlier in the season where his influence was confined to the penalty area only, Morata put in the hard yards and tracked back to win the ball from the opposition. In other words, he showed a lot of intent to make things happen rather than waiting for the ball to be laid on a platter.
He seems to have worked on the tactical aspect of his game. The 26-year-old made some subtle runs to get behind the backline and looked far more proactive with his movement, something that he was lacking in his previous displays. Morata seems to be the kind of player who needs confidence and the backing of his manager to score goals and he certainly has got everything in his favour this season.
There were rumours about Chelsea lining up big moves for Mauro Icardi and Krzysztof Piatek in January (h/t Sun) but Morata’s performances in the recent weeks will definitely give the club authorities something to think about. He already has five goals in the Premier League so far and he has the quality to rack up at least fifteen if he continues his good run of form. And he needs to do that if Chelsea are to keep themselves in the title race.