Ahead of Chelsea’s huge UEFA Champions League first-leg clash with Barcelona in a week’s time, Alvaro Morata has had his say on their Spanish opponents.
The former Real Madrid striker has singled out one player in particular and it’s the man who has never scored against the Blues, Lionel Messi.
Morata has said that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner “cannot be stopped”, coming as a surprise to Chelsea fans as it isn’t particularly the confidence booster they were hoping for. However, they will take some confidence from the fact that the West London side are statistically Messi’s toughest ever opponents. In his eight matches against the Blues, he has failed to score a single goal, the worst record he holds against one club in his career.
As a lifelong Real Madrid fan, Morata will be desperate to score against their arch-rivals and hopefully knock them out of the Champions League, but his injury might restrict him from featuring in either leg. He has commented on how the first-leg hosts should set up.
“If we can get a good result here, we have to play a defensive game with spaces and try to bother them as much as possible,” the 25-year-old told Movistar. In his interview, he also mentioned that he was becoming increasingly fed up of playing second fiddle to Karim Benzema at the Bernabeu.
“I didn’t play knockout games in the Champions League, neither against Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla or Valencia. Life doesn’t end when you leave Real Madrid, but I am still a fan of Real Madrid.”
The reason for his move was to be in the thick of the action in big games like the one his new employers are facing next week. While his brief history in the most important fixtures for Chelsea isn’t particularly impressive, Morata will be chomping at the bit to get on the scoresheet against Barcelona when they visit Stamford Bridge. The return leg at the Camp Nou will propose a tougher test and a potentially hostile reception for the Spaniard but he will undoubtedly thrive off the negativity of the Catalonians.
