Antonio Conte says Alvaro Morata 'unlucky' after missing hat-trick of chances in Chelsea vs Arsenal

Thursday 4 January 2018 00:06, UK

Antonio Conte says Alvaro Morata is "not lucky in this period" after the Chelsea striker missed a hat-trick of chances in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal.

Morata spurned a great chance to open the scoring in the first half, but sent his effort wide when one-on-one with Petr Cech.

The Spaniard then blazed over at 1-1 before missing a brilliant opportunity to steal it at the death, just moments after Hector Bellerin scored a dramatic injury-time equaliser.

On this final occasion, Morata could only fire straight at Cech - with Davide Zappacosta smashing the rebound against the bar - and Conte admitted it was a "pity" the forward could not fire Chelsea to all three points.

"He's not lucky in this period," Conte told Sky Sports after the match. "He has to continue to work and improve.

"In this case, it's a pity because he had many chances to score. But at the same time, I am very happy for his effort and commitment.

"It's a pity because when you have so many chances to score, you must win the game. But instead we are talking about a draw.

"It's a good draw against a good team, but in this game, we deserved to win."

It was Arsenal who opened the scoring in an enthralling tie at the Emirates, with Jack Wilshere rifling past Thibaut Courtois, who had earlier brilliantly kept out Alexis Sanchez's strike with the help of both posts.

Chelsea were level four minutes later after Eden Hazard converted from the spot - a decision which Arsenal boss labelled "farcical" - while the Blues were ahead when Marcos Alonso slotted home from Zappacosta's cross in the 84th minute.

However, Chelsea could not hold on, and Bellerin's well-taken effort secured a point for Arsenal, but only after Morata made a hash of his final attempt and Zappacosta hit the woodwork with the follow-up.

"I think we must be disappointed; me and my players," Conte added. "Today we had a good chance to win. This is football, and we must accept the final result.

"When you see you are missing a great chance to win the game, for sure there is a bit of disappointment, but it's only the same disappointment as the players.

"We work together, we win together, we draw together, we lose together. I repeat, it's a pity because we deserved to win the game."