Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata is what you a call “a gamer.” He wants to play, all the time, even when he’s far from his 100% best.
The most expensive player in Chelsea history began his Blues career in really fine form, getting off to an extremely hot start, but he’s since been set back by injuries. The physical problems then created confidence issues for the Spaniard, who now admits he shouldn’t have pushed himself to play through his back issues.
Morata, who has 10 goals in 21 appearances this season, came on as a substitute last night for 30 minutes and recorded an assist in Chelsea’s 3-0 win over West Bromwich Albion. It was his first appearance in almost a month, when he came on as a very late sub in the FA Cup replay win over Norwich City.
In an interview with Movistar, Alvaro Morata assessed the story arc of his first season at Chelsea thus far.
“Chelsea is a big club, a club that has given me the opportunity to play as a starter, to grow even more. It’s a team where I’m very happy, where I started well until I had some physical problems,” he said.
“I made a mistake in that respect as I played with pain (earlier in the campaign). I went through a poor spell where I missed important goals but I wasn’t well physically and mentally. I have to grit my teeth and do all that I can to return.”
Yesterday was certainly a promising sign for Morata and the Blues.
It’s definitely been a trying season for the centre forward, but maybe this is a turning point for the better.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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