Chelsea favourite Pat Nevin has taken a stance against the accepted wisdom that Alvaro Morata was shocking in Saturday’s match against Southampton, and that the striker’s removal was the real catalyst for the team’s stunning three goal turnaround.
“He battled manfully, generally against three centre-backs on his own, with very little help or protection,” Nevin wrote in his piece on the club’s official website.
To be fair to Nevin, he’s not even saying that Morata played well, just that he put up a good fight against the Southampton back three. It’s absolutely true that the Saints defenders went out with the express purpose of roughing and winding the forward up, which they achieved with ease.
The three of them took turns, as Nevin points out, to rotate fouls on the Spaniard, and his frustration grew worse and worse to the point where he was barely able to contribute.
By the time Olivier Giroud came on, Saints had a two goal lead to sit on and were much deeper on the field. Giroud is himself a more physical player with more experience battling against centre-halves in this division. It was harder to put him off, and he soon showed his physical dominance in the air.
