Assistant Chelsea coach Carlo Cudicini has insisted that striker Alvaro Morata is working hard to score regular goals and is delighted after he struck twice to help the Blues beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 in the FA Cup.
Chelsea dominated the game from the first minute and set up camp in the opposition half. Morata came close to scoring in the 12th minute when he received a good cross from Davide Zappacosta, but his header was saved well in the top left corner by Forest goalkeeper Luke Steele.
The Championship outfit continued to defend doggedly in the first quarter of the game. Their players were prepared to put their body on the line and blocked a number of shots. Chelsea continued to probe to get the breakthrough, but Nottingham Forest continued to repel their attacks.
The home side received a reprieve on the half-hour mark when they were awarded a penalty when Danny Fox tripped Ruben Loftus-Cheek inside the box. However, Fabregas missed from the spot, in what could be his last game for the club.
Chelsea came close to scoring again in the 37th minute but Zappacosta’s right-footed effort was again saved well by Steele to keep the scores level. Nottingham Forest had a couple of efforts towards the end of the half but they did little to trouble Willy Caballero in the Chelsea goal.
The Blues scored early in the second half when Callum Hudson-Odoi set up Morata with a wonderful ball. The Spaniard didn’t make any mistake and slotted the ball into the bottom right-hand corner of Steele’s goal to give the lead to Chelsea.
However, minutes later Morata missed a gilt-edged opportunity two yards out when the goal was gaping, but he somehow managed to volley the ball over the crossbar.
Hudson-Odoi also had an effort saved a few minutes later by Steele as Chelsea chased the second goal. But the second goal came on the hour mark when Morata buried another header from another Hudson-Odoi cross, the youngster grabbing his second assist in the game.
Following the second goal, Chelsea kept the ball and continued to dominate the game. They kept Nottingham Forest to only some hopeful shots from outside the box and looked comfortable.
The home side managed to close out the game without breaking too much of a sweat and progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Maurizio Sarri's assistant coach Cudicini was quick to hail Morata's role in the win and insists the under-pressure striker is continuing to work hard to discover his best form.
"I think Alvaro played an important part in today’s performance, he was very good in terms of working for the team, offensively but mainly defensively", he told his club's official site.
"It was very important for him to score two goals which can only be good for his confidence.
"We are all pleased with his performance but we were even when he didn’t score in previous games so hopefully it will be good for his morale that he scored, and hopefully he will be more free in his mind."
