Alvaro Morata: A closer look at the forward's Chelsea debut and what Antonio Conte said
The Spaniard was brought on in Chelsea's defeat against Bayern Munich shortly after the hour mark
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Antonio Conte has admitted that Alvaro Morata needs time to adapt to Chelsea’s “idea of football” after making his debut from the bench in Chelsea’s 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich.
Morata came on after 63 minutes and was positioned on the left flank of a frontline attack that played Michy Batshuayi through the middle and Willian on the right as part of a 3-4-3 formation.
The Spaniard did not take any shots on goal but provided Batshuayi with this assist for Chelsea’s second. From a Blues corner, Morata muscled his way to the front post and flicked on a header to the Belgian who did the rest with a simple finish.
The former Real Madrid player showed his talent on the ball, too, with a handful of skilful runs from midfield to drive Chelsea forward.
On the middle or on the left?
During his time at Real Madrid Morata, 24, was mostly played in the centre of attack but often had to be shifted out to the left. Conte chose to play his new striker here today and encouraged him to cut inside to support Batshuayi.
Eden Hazard is recovering from an ankle injury and may not return to the first team until September. Until then, Morata may have to settle for a position on the left with Batshuayi, who has scored four goals in his last two games, in the middle and Willian on the right.
When Hazard returns from injury, Conte may decide to move Morata to the middle and play Hazard on his favoured left wing.
What the manager said
Conte was impressed with Morata’s debut but admitted he needs more time to adapt to Chelsea’s system. “We must give him time to adapt to our way of football,” Conte said, “he should be pleased with his performance.
“It’s not easy to talk about the impact of Alvaro because he’s only been with us two days and he needs to work and find his feet and understand our idea of football. He showed a great will and for us he’s a great buy.”
Chelsea have work to do
Chelsea were comfortably beaten by Bayern Munich who scored three goals inside the first 25 minutes on their way to winning 3-2.
Conte is keen to take the positives from the game despite such a poor start. “We didn’t give up and the commitment was good. Our start wasn’t good but the players showed me a great will to try to change the result.
“We conceded three goals in (the first) half-hour and it’s not simple,” said Conte, “it was a difficult situation…Bayern are a top club, one of the best in the world. We must take the positives and continue to work.”
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