Sarri backs ‘fragile’ Morata after Chelsea win

Maurizio Sarri praised Alvaro Morata after the striker continued his purple patch by scoring twice in Chelsea’s 3-1 win against Crystal Palace.

Having struggled for much of his time at Stamford Bridge, Morata has now scored five goals in his last six appearances for the Blues.

And boss Sarri believes the Spaniard has now turned the corner.

“I think so. Alvaro improved in the last month,” Sarri said.

“He has improved in his confidence and his personality. He also improved from a technical point of view and now he is able to play more with the team.

“I think also that Alvaro has very great potential, so I think he can improve more.”

Sarri added that Morata needs to see that “goals are a consequence” and that his priority should be working hard for the team.

Asked if he felt Morata tends to overthink in front of goal, Sarri said: “He’s a little bit fragile from a mental point of view but he is very young and can improve.”

The win maintained Chelsea’s unbeaten start under Sarri and took them above Liverpool into second place, two points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City.

But Sarri again played down his team’s chances of keeping up with defending champions City in the title race.

He said: “At the beginning we knew very well there was a gap. Last season the gap was 30 points.

“At the moment we need only to try to cover the large part of this gap. I hope to cover almost all the gap.

“I think it’s very difficult to cover a gap of 30 points in six months, but we will try.”