Chelsea fans should join the players and rally behind Alvaro Morata

With Maurizio Sarri reverting back to the A-Team for the visit to Southampton, last season’s match-winning super-sub Olivier Giroud is likely to start ahead of mid-week match-winner Alvaro Morata. Whilst the Spaniard appears to be under a self-imposed pressure to score, he at least has.

Olivier Giroud’s contribution to Chelsea’s goal tally this season is zero, but there is no clamour for goals from him. As ever, the media see a weakness – in Alvaro Morata. And like Fernando Torres before him, they pile on more pressure and feed the beast.

Chelsea supporters are an empathetic bunch when it comes to one of their own and can see beyond the anti-Chelsea bias. Clearly, Morata is currently having a crisis of confidence on the field of play. No one wants to witness a fellow human being suffer as the Spaniard did, at times, against MOL Vidi in the Europa League this week. Thankfully, it was his goal that secured the 1-0 win.

It’s been apparent during a number of recent games that his teammates, Eden Hazard in particular, have tried to set Morata up with a goal. That kind of camaraderie along with the support that was actually shown after Thursday’s goal shows a collective group of players who care for each other. Willian clearly understood how Morata was feeling, as the two shared a lingering post-goal embrace.

Teamwork and commitment to those around you is an important part of everyday life, never mind for those who work in the overly analysed world of sport. We’ve seen so many stories of golfers, cricketers and recently rugby players who struggle mentally with certain aspects of their jobs.

Let’s not forget these people are just doing their job. The vast sums of money they can earn does not exclude them from having emotions. Footballers, however, seem less able to speak out about such problems, at least whilst they are still playing.

We have no way of knowing what Morata’s actual mental state is. But the relief of scoring the winning goal against a Hungarian side ranked down in 243rd in UEFA’s rankings, appeared to bring the Spaniard close to tears. It’s an unusual response to scoring a goal and it shows just how much pressure he feels under.

The Europa League game looked like it would be a good chance for Morata to bag a few goals to get his season back on track, assuming it’s as bad as many make it out tobe. After all, as a striker, if you’re not scoring, where’s your contribution? But Morata is doing the right things. He’s creating the opportunities – he’s simply not taking them.

Fellow Spaniard Cesc Fabregas spoke to Nizaar Kinsella after the game:

"Alvaro will [remember this game] I’m sure, it was very important for him. You can feel he was trying to be a little bit nervous about the situation. He was stressing out a bit, so the goal will do him a lot of good. I think this happens to all the strikers, they want to score goals. That’s their nature. I’ve never felt it as it is not my game. But I feel for them when they don’t score goals, especially Alvaro as I have a good relationship with him and I know that he suffers as he cares a lot. – Goal.com"

Following on from strikers like Didier Drogba and Diego Costa was never going to be easy, and the £58 million price tag just adds more strain. But Chelsea fans will back Alvaro Morata to come good. Look at Fernando Torres. Whilst the media willed the ex-Liverpool striker to fail at the Bridge, his stats weren’t as bad as the anti-Chelsea brigade would like us to believe. He certainly won more silverware at Chelsea than anywhere else.

At 25 years old, Morata has age on his side even if the media aren’t. If he can accept he won’t score with every shot and relax into his game, he’ll come good. Morata is at his best when he doesn’t have the time to consider his options. He’s a striker who plays on instinct and, although he’s only scored two goals, they both contributed to wins.

Olivier Giroud, on the other hand, makes for a good target man. The best in the world, according to Eden Hazard. Maybe playing Giroud alongside Morata with Hazard playing just behind them could become the matchday plan B Maurizio Sarri seems to lack.