Thecassanova:
With the way Bakayoko plays every game, he may get injured soon and wouldn't play against Barca

It will not make a difference if he plays or not, he is a passenger

Nihilist:


Even that is doubtful...

I'm waiting for your brother, lordfalcao, to come and give morata 10/10 rating as usual.

airmark:


I'm waiting for your brother, lordalcao, to come and give )#/ morata 10/10 rating as usual.

No be only 10/10.....Na 100/100

Roland17:
No nonsense ref..Abeg I need this ref for EPL..I tell una say na Scuba diving Chelsea dey do now. This is quite shameful.

u watch that game ba?
I don't think xo.

BushWickBill:


You sef you no dey tire on top dis matter?

I didn't do anything wrong o. I am actually happy for the guy o.

airmark:
I'm waiting for your brother, lordfalcao, to come and give morata 10/10 rating as usual.

diggz:
No be only 10/10.....Na 100/100

It was Hazard 10/10 rating

Heywhizzy:
so dem dey count goal wey dem score for penalty shootout

Hazard needs all the encouragement he can get.

Thecassanova:
With the way Bakayoko plays every game, he may get injured soon and wouldn't play against Barca

Maybe that's Conte grand plan

The only way Morata can score with his leg

airmark:


I'm waiting for your brother, lordfalcao, to come and give morata 10/10 rating as usual.

what is the rating of other attackers?

Leyqute:
The only way Morata can score with his leg

See Neymars 3rd goal tonight

Beastly

raumdeuter:
See Neymars 3rd goal tonight

Beastly

Wrong thread sir

raumdeuter:
See Neymars 3rd goal tonight

Beastly

the boy is hot. A hand in 6 goals in one game.

With the help of Jamie Carragher, we explore the reasons for his dip in form after such a strong start and why Chelsea supporters should keep faith in the forward.

"I had seen enough over the years to know he was a good striker, albeit just below the absolute top level of strikers in world football," Jamie Carragher tells MNF Extra .
"But there is a dearth of great ones in the game right now. That is why Morata cost so much and that is why Chelsea got him. I felt this was a move that would put him in that top bracket if he did as well as I expected and he certainly started very well."
Morata scored six goals in his first six Premier League appearances following his move from Real Madrid. Having scored his 40 career goals in Serie A and La Liga at a rate of one every 127 minutes, this further encouraged the idea that he just needed more time on the pitch.
But Morata went off injured during the first half of Chelsea's home defeat to Manchester City in the very next game and his record since then is less impressive. The Spaniard has scored only four goals in his last 14 Premier League appearances for Antonio Conte's side.

He has been criticised for missing chances. Most notably, there were three one-on-one opportunities spurned in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium earlier this month. It was not the first time that Morata's profligacy cost Chelsea points in a big game.
According to Opta, the Chelsea striker has the worst big chance conversion rate of the eight players to reach double figures for goals in the Premier League this season. Alarmingly, he has scored only one of six such opportunities in games against the top six teams.
"I have read that he is a deep thinker about the game who gets frustrated, so perhaps that is why he is snatching at chances," says Carragher. "He has struggled in front of goal when he has had a bit too much time to think. That is something that he has got to work on."

Conte himself has also expressed his concerns about Chelsea's record in front of goal, understandably so given that no team has a better defensive record. "We are not showing great quality in our finishing," he said recently.

"This is the truth." But is it the whole truth?


As well as being accused of missing too many chances, there are also concerns that Morata does not get enough of them. Against Leicester last time out, he did not have a single shot. It is not clear that Chelsea's setup is designed to get the best out of their record signing.

Morata has scored six headed goals this season - more than any other player in the Premier League - but four of them came courtesy of Cesar Azpilicueta. Chelsea do cross the ball but with Eden Hazard just off Morata, Conte is now opting for a system without genuine width.


Former captain Dennis Wise says Andy Carroll is not the answer for Chelsea


"The goals he has got this season show how good he is in the air and Azpilicueta has been a revelation," says Carragher. "That is an added bonus that Morata maybe would not normally be getting from a centre-back stepping out. He has certainly gained from that.
"But when you are playing three at the back you are not playing with wingers who you'd think would naturally cross the ball.


In Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses they still have players who get to the byline but not as much as a traditional wide-man would."
But perhaps the biggest problem for Morata is not his finishing or the service. It is the fear that extrapolating his scoring rate over a full season overlooked the strain that those added minutes on the pitch would bring. The real concern now is that Morata has hit the wall.


Morata has already played more league minutes this season than ever before
"I think it is a massive factor," says Carragher. "Normally he is probably sunning himself somewhere in the winter break and that's a problem. It's not just physical but the mental side too. He may be mentally tired with this being his first year in the Premier League.



"When you look at his career record, he has not played a great deal of football really. At both Real Madrid and Juventus, he very rarely completed the full 90 minutes in games so he is going to have to get stronger the longer he is in the Premier League."

It is not just that Morata has already played more minutes in the current campaign than he has in any other season of his top-flight career. It is that he is having to keep going for longer too. He has played 75 minutes or more in 15 of Chelsea's Premier League games.
He is being expected to play a bigger role far more often this season
He had never previously stayed on the pitch that long for more than 10 league games in a season and there are signs that managing that workload is becoming trickier.

The Premier League tracking data suggests that Morata's physical output has dipped.

During those first six games of the season, he was clocked as Chelsea's fastest player in three of them but that has only happened twice in the 14 games since. He averaged 59 sprints per 90 minutes in those early games but only 52 sprints per 90 minutes since then.

The indications are that he is feeling the effects of playing so often. "He is someone who relies on his sharpness," says Carragher. "He is not Diego Costa or Didier Drogba. He does not have that physical frame that can put up with those knocks every three days."
Morata's total average sprints per 90 minutes has been gradually declining



So what is the solution? Could Morata rediscover his best form when used in rotation? Would holding him back for Chelsea's bigger games pay off? "The problem that Chelsea have is that Conte has no faith whatsoever in Michy Batshuayi," says Carragher.
"If he had a good back-up striker then Morata could have been taken out of the firing line and come back fresher for the next game.


But Chelsea are so reliant on him that when he is not there, they don't actually play with a striker, they go to the false nine with Hazard."
Morata just needs support. "I still think he is a very good player," adds Carragher. "There is no doubt about his quality or his class. He made a great start and with the quality of the players around him, he will come through this.





Chelsea should not lose faith too early."

When we said 70m for a bench warmer was too much they said we were hating. Morata is the victim here, Conte should just get Andy so Morata can go back to his comfort zone the bench

MoR2:
He has been criticised for missing chances. Most notably, there were three one-on-one opportunities spurned in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium earlier this month. It was not the first time that Morata's profligacy cost Chelsea points in a big game.
According to Opta, the Chelsea striker has the worst big chance conversion rate of the eight players to reach double figures for goals in the Premier League this season. Alarmingly, he has scored only one of six such opportunities in games against the top six teams.
"I have read that he is a deep thinker about the game who gets frustrated, so perhaps that is why he is snatching at chances," says Carragher. "He has struggled in front of goal when he has had a bit too much time to think. That is something that he has got to work on."

All hail the mighty Miss Mor-Mor who's the best buy for chelsea this season,scoring goals left and right and never miss goal scoring chances like Lukaku. mek i hear anyone comparing machine Lukaku to plastic Miss Mor-Mor again.

raumdeuter:


I agree Agboola came into the National tam setup earlier and even fizzled out before the 94 days

But I think it was after we qualified for the world cup in 1993 that the likes of Ekoku begin show face

Afrodoc2 can shed more light

Reuben was a couple of years before the 94 world cup. He lost his place mainly due to Ben Iroha's development as a quality left back after his switch from midfield. Also i think Reuben had some niggling injuries.

In 94 when we finally reached the promised land all sorts of people started coming out of the woodwork, some good and some not so good.
An example of the former is Chidi Nwanu who had been ignored for some years for inferior players like Isaac Semitoje (mainly for personal reasons).
An example of the latter is Emenalo who was totally unknown in Nigeria but used American wonder and his parapo with Keshi to scuttle Ugbade's hopes of being the first player to go to the world cup at all 3 levels. Have you heard Ugbade's account of his time at the camp? It is Nollywood stuff.
Ekoku also came in late into the team. Strikers like Owubokiri, Mike Obiku, Ohenhen were known locally but for various reasons which were debated didn't make the cut. Fashanu also tried backdoor moves but he had played for England.

eph12:
When we said 70m for a bench warmer was too much they said we were hating. Morata is the victim here, Conte should just get Andy so Morata can go back to his comfort zone the bench

Phuck you eph!!!

eph12:
When we said 70m for a bench warmer was too much they said we were hating. Morata is the victim here, Conte should just get Andy so Morata can go back to his comfort zone the bench

They were mocking United for buying a jambodi 911 tipper with a first touch of a petrol tanker and hailing their Mr. exquisite Ferrari First touch . His only other skill apart from profligate finishing is dissent towards refs.

It is clear why Morata was never first choice at Real and Juve.
But make we dey look na.

The Carroll news just dey tear my belle. Very soon we will be hailing them as long ball specialists, the same thing they were mocking United for.

Mr First touch has slowly but surely metamorphosed into Mr Brain touch.

Morata has transformed to Modaran. hehehe

afrodoc2:
Mr First touch has slowly but surely metamorphosed into Mr Brain touch.

Morata has transformed to Modaran. hehehe

What is the use of the var if the referee will not consult him before making a doubtful decision.

That referee must have a hidden agenda. You could see it on their faces after the final whistle

Greatihex:
What is the use of the var if the referee will not consult him before making a doubtful decision.

That referee must have a hidden agenda. You could see it on their faces after the final whistle

Don't mind the useless referees they have succeeded in ruining the whole season with their stupidity. Even with VAR they are still making silly errors, i hope they don't make it to world cup

I watched the game again this morning and the referee made the right calls and even the Commentator agreed to it.. Morata Dived, hand on shoulder and you are falling to the front, clear dive and being all up in the referee's face deserved another yellow.. You can't even argue Pedro's sending off, Clear dive and foul

dopeJemi:
I watched the game again this morning and the referee made the right calls and even the Commentator agreed to it.. Morata Dived, hand on shoulder and you are falling to the front, clear dive and being all up in the referee's face deserved another yellow.. You can't even argue Pedro's sending off, Clear dive and foul

how will the ref not make the right call when you are a man united fan?

atheist5:
how will the ref not make the right call when you are a man united fan?

Are the commentators Man Utd fans too? Can you tell me which decision he didn't make right? Didn't Pedro and Morata dive? did Pedro not foul the Norwich player?

BushWickBill:


They were mocking United for buying a jambodi 911 tipper with a first touch of a petrol tanker and hailing their Mr. exquisite Ferrari First touch . His only other skill apart from profligate finishing is dissent towards refs.

It is clear why Morata was never first choice at Real and Juve.
But make we dey look na.

The Carroll news just dey tear my belle. Very soon we will be hailing them as long ball specialists, the same thing they were mocking United for.

They forgot that the last touch was the most important one. Is this our God not a faithful God?

I wonder what they discuss in their board meetings? Probably how to go back in time and pursue Lukaku aggressively. The other option is to cut Morata's head and place it on his leg.

I fear for Morata's life brother. Just look at how they are busy digging sunken places all over the bridge for him

Nihilist:
Maziomenuko Morata red card

Your team is painted with the colours of the wind

Na so! The clown has conspired with you to ruin my fpl team. I don't think any of you chelsea fans in fpl have him in your own team; na me come carry am for head like gala and lacasera.

I'm officially done with that tool!