Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri has revealed that Alvaro Morata understands his omission from the Blues squad in their victory over Manchester City, before also reassuring the Spanish striker of his future at Stamford Bridge.
The impressive 2-0 win over the current Premier League champions Manchester City saw Eden Hazard start as the central attacking option for the Blues, with Olivier Giroud starting from the bench and Morata entirely left out of the squad. It was the first time ever that Sarri left out both strikers from the starting lineup since joining the club.
Morata’s last two starts have been in the defeat against Spurs and Wolves and Sarri’s decision to leave out the Spaniard in their latest match has again triggered questions regarding the 26-year-old’s future at west London yet the ex-Napoli boss has stated that it was a tactical decision, before reassuring Morata that he remains very much an integral part of the west London side.
“I think it is normal, it was a choice for this kind of match,” Sarri said to reporters at Stamford Bridge. “I don’t know if in Brighton we will play in the same way or not, maybe not. I don’t know. I think Alvaro is able to understand that it is only a tactical decision, it is not the final choice.
“We thought yesterday that for the first time in the season that there was a possibility to have more spaces – so we wanted to try with Eden – because for the first time there was a possibility to play on the counter-attack. Willian, Hazard and Pedro are really very suitable for this kind of play, so it is a normal choice. I think that it is really a very good option and maybe we will try it again in the future. Especially for certain matches.”
