Alvaro Morata is as important and impressive for Chelsea as Mo Salah is for Liverpool, says Antonio Conte
Blues boss hails Spain striker who already has eight goals and four assists in his debut Premier League season - compared to nine strikes for much-praised Salah
TO everyone raving about a certain Liverpool forward, Chelsea boss Antonio Conte says — hang on a Mo, what about Alvaro Morata?
Mo Salah’s blistering start to life at Anfield has been extremely impressive and the former Blues ace tops the Premier League scoring charts with nine goals.
But Chelsea striker Morata — who unlike Salah had never played in England before this season — has eight strikes to his name, plus four assists.
The clash between the two in-form stars is just one of the mouth-watering prospects for today’s tea-time clash and Conte is happy to talk his man up.
The Italian said: “Salah’s start was important, he is scoring a lot of goals.
“But Alvaro is the same. To my team and for me it was very important for him to have an impressive start in this league.
“In our system, the striker is such a vital figure and for this reason is always involved in our chances.
"Sometimes he scores or makes an assist for his team-mates.
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“To play in this league for a striker is not simple because it is very tough compared with Italy and Spain.
“He has shown commitment and that he is a clever person to adapt himself to this league.”
This showdown will also be between two managers not shy of displaying their emotions.
Asked about the similarities between himself and Jurgen Klopp, Conte said: “We like to live the game with intensity and passion, to stay on the touchline to try to help our players.
“It is very difficult not to show this passion.
"It is very difficult to stay seated and to watch the game.
“But I consider Klopp to be one of the best coaches in the world.”
Yet are Chelsea and Liverpool already fighting for, at best, second place, given megabucks Manchester City’s record-breaking start to the Premier League campaign?
Conte thinks he and Klopp are in the same situation as other sides were last season, when his Chelsea side went on a 13-match winning streak that turned them into champions.
Conte said: “If Manchester City continue this way, it will be impossible to fight for the title.
“I also remember last season, the other coaches said, ‘Yes, we need to win — but if Chelsea continue it will be impossible to catch up with them’.
“At the same time, we have to look at ourselves. Try to improve every game, to build something important for the present — but also for the future.”
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Conte said he was not looking for “excuses” over Chelsea’s trip back from Champions League duty in Azerbaijan in the early hours of Thursday morning — when their plane touched down at the second time of asking because of high winds.
But Salah will certainly be looking to give his old team just as fearful a time at Anfield.
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