Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata says he is finding his feet in the Premier League, despite acknowledging that the English league’s physicality is one of the most challenging aspects to adapt to.
The Spaniard has hit the ground running at the start of his Blues career, scoring three goals in his first four Premier League matches, and he feels that the key to succeeding in England is to be at peak physical fitness. He is quoted as saying by the Mirror
“You need to be in good condition to play here and approach every match with a good mentality.”
Morata also says he has already discovered some similarities between how teams defend in Italy and in England. He feels smaller teams tend to sit back, but there is room for strikers to exploit when opposition sides decide to attack:
“In terms of the marking, it is probably the same here as in Italy with the teams that are maybe not at the top of the league – those teams are compact and it’s hard for us sometimes to break them down.”
“But when the other team wants to play with the ball, you can find space. That’s when you find the spaces to attack the other team.”
The 24 year old was rested for Chelsea’s 6-0 win over Azerbaijan side Qarabag in the Champions League, but the forward is expected to return to the starting line up for the London derby against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon. The Blues will be heading into the match after four consecutive victories in all competitions, and they will be looking to make their home advantage count.