Morata returns with a goal as Chelsea beat Brighton
Chelsea 2 Brighton 0
Alvaro Morata’s goal 52 seconds into the second half and Marcos Alonso’s on the hour mark gave Chelsea a deserved Boxing Day win at Stamford Bridge.
Morata, back in the Blues side, sneaked behind Brighton defender Lewis Dunk to head home Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross from the right – the striker’s 10th Premier League goal.
And Alonso headed home Cesc Fabregas’ corner to seal the victory.
Chelsea dominated a first half in which Eden Hazard and Antonio Rudiger shot wide and Seagulls keeper Mat Ryan produced saves from Morata and Victor Moses.
The best opportunity of the first half fell to Tiemoue Bakayoko.
Bakayoko did not have much time to react when Rudiger at the far post headed Fabregas’ right-wing cross back towards the Frenchman, who side-footed wide from seven yards out.
Bakayoko showed much more composure when teeing up Hazard soon after Morata had opened the scoring.
The midfielder brought down a glorious long ball from Fabregas and laid it off to Hazard, who fired narrowly wide.
Alonso almost doubled the lead with a trademark left-footed free-kick which was tipped away by Ryan, who also did superbly to keep out Alonso’s header from the resulting right-wing corner by Fabregas.
However, Ryan was unable to rescue his side a couple of minutes later, when the Chelsea wide-man nodded in another Fabregas corner, this time from the left flank.
Shane Duffy prevented a third Blues goal with a goal-line clearance to deny Hazard.
Chelsea: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Rudiger; Moses, Kante (Drinkwater 85), Fabregas, Bakayoko, Alonso; Hazard (Willian 73), Morata (Batshuayi 81).
Subs not used: Caballero, Drinkwater, Pedro, Zappacosta, Ampadu.
