Maurizio Sarri comes in the defence of Alvaro Morata

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has come in the defence of Alvaro Morata amid the recent criticism on social media. The Spain international has been in decent touch for the Blues with six goals across all competitions but he has still managed to squander a number of straightforward chances with the latest being on international duty with Spain.

As such, there has been plenty of abuse focused at the former Real Madrid man but Sarri has come in the defence of his marksman saying: “Morata is a quality player, fast and technically gifted. He’s a sensible person and the difficulties had hurt him. The results and the quality of our football are positive. 18 games without a loss in such a competitive reality show that we’re on the right track.”

Morata has improved on the scoring record since October with an impressive tally of five goals from seven appearances for the Blues but he nonetheless has the tendency to squander opportunities which could cost the team dearly. Owing to this, there have been reports focusing on the need for a new striker for the Blues but Sarri has not provided much idea on the club’s transfer business for the New Year.

Generally, “the Blues have avoided opening their chequebooks midway through the campaign“ and that may remain the stance when the transfer window reopens. Chelsea are currently the only top-flight club to stay unbeaten since the start of the 2017/18 season and “they recently extended the “streak to 18 matches after the goalless stalemate versus Everton.

Nonetheless, there remains the room for improvement particularly with the intensity during the opening stages of matches and that has been something which Sarri has spoken about after the frustrating home draw at the hands of Everton. The Blues are currently third in the league standings with a four-point deficit to leaders Manchester City.