Alvaro Morata just like an early day Olivier Giroud and other takeaways as Chelsea reach FA Cup final

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  • The acrobatic Eden Hazard and the dancing feet of Olivier Giroud combined to conjure a famous Wembley goal on Sunday and steer Chelsea into an FA Cup final against Manchester United.

    In contrast to their fine performance in defeat to the Blues last weekend, Southampton only woke up late on but Alvaro Morata finished the job from the substitutes’ bench.

    Signs are that Hazard’s back

    Once considered the very best player in the Premier League, Hazard has disappeared into the shadows of late. To coin a couple of terms from the financial circles, Kevin De Bruyne and Mo Salah have been the bull markets while the stock of Hazard – not helped by Chelsea’s inadequacy this season – has taken the shape of a bear.

    At the same time Messrs De Bruyne and Salah were revelling in the plaudits at the PFA awards in London on Sunday night, Hazard was in the ice bath after getting kicked around Wembley for much of the afternoon. And he’d have been just as happy as his glittering Man City and Liverpool counterparts.

    That’s because this was a performance that reaffirmed Hazard’s status as a global superstar. He was both the head and shaft of the arrow – leading the assault into enemy territory and piercing the Southampton defenders with double-digit dribbles. Few players have the brass neck to execute a rabona at Wembley, in a semi-final no less, but Hazard should be celebrated for it. He’s back.

    An injury-free World Cup – Belgium will be delighted by this display – and the next Chelsea manager, provided Hazard resists the temptation of Real Madrid, still has a generational talent to build around.

    Seeing double in Morata and Giroud

    Morata’s Chelsea career looked uncertain right around the time Giroud took on Hazard’s kung-fu kick and waltzed the Southampton defence dizzy.

    It should have been enough to evaporate whatever was left of Morata’s self-confidence. Instead he scored the goal that could well keep him at Stamford Bridge.

    Fittingly, it came from the only consistent outlet that Morata has been able to depend upon in Cesar Azpilicueta, who picked out his compatriot with precision.

    The former Real Madrid striker has now scored nine headed goals in all competitions for Chelsea – a problem being that he has only netted five with his feet.

    Who is he reminiscent of? An early-day Arsenal Olivier Giroud. He is strong without ever being imposing, good in the air without ever being freakish, mobile without scaring defenders. Modern-day Giroud, however, has the Premier League nous painstakingly developed over six years to maximise his attributes.

    Does Morata have a higher ceiling? Probably. But Chelsea wouldn’t have shelled out £75 million if they didn’t think the Spaniard was a sure thing.
    The first interview question to any prospective manager this summer will surely be how they plan on getting a much bigger return out of their investment.

    Saints’ adventure too late

    Mark Hughes isn’t a subscriber to the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach. The Southampton boss opted to bench Dusan Tadic and James Ward-Prowse, two star performers in the unlucky Premier League defeat to Chelsea last weekend and forgo width.

    Instead, Saints started with an extra box-to-box midfielder in Mario Lemina and paired an industrious Shane Long with another workaholic striker in Charlie Austin.

    By packing the midfield, it meant Chelsea’s wing-backs had relatively free rein, as there was no threat from Southampton down their sides. This inevitably pushed Hughes’ team back and at one point very early in the first half, it seemed as if the gameplan was to sit tight and hope for penalties.

    Only when Tadic and Nathan Redmond were introduced on the hour-mark did Southampton muster a sustained threat. Yes, they looked fairly ragged at the back, but they had been cracked open like a coconut just as easily at the start of the second half.

    For that approach to work you can’t rely on Shane Long. He makes things happen but as his inexplicable heavy touch around Willy Caballero clears up, the bad has a habit of outweighing the good.

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