A number of angry Chelsea fans have taken to Twitter to call for Antonio Conte to drop Alvaro Morata for Olivier Giroud.
Morata started the weekend’s defeat to Manchester United, however had a disappointing game – his best moment being a disallowed goal for which the Spaniard was (perhaps wrongly) adjudged to have been offside.
Olivier Giroud entered the fray with only 12 minutes to go, yet managed to impress in his short cameo.
He could not however affect the result, with United running out 2-1 winners, with goals from former Blue Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard cancelling out Willian’s opener.
Giroud signed for the Blues on deadline day during the January transfer window in a £18 million deal from London rivals Arsenal. Since the move, the Frenchman has made only oe start for his new club – a 4-0 victory over Hull City in the FA Cup – a game in which he produced a Man of the Match performance with two assists and a goal.
Morata on the other hand joined the Blues in the summer as a club record signing from Real Madrid. Yet after a blistering start to his career at Stamford Bridge, the Spain international has struggled in recent months and has not found the net since Boxing Day last year.
His performance at Old Trafford at the weekend compounded what has been a miserable 2018 for the former Juventus striker.
And following the defeat, Chelsea fans have been left wondering what might have been if Giroud would have started the game, and Morata did so on the bench instead …
Morata v Giroud summed up in a gif..
One wins a header then fights for the ball and muscles off two United players…
The other spent 70 minutes rolling about on the floor. https://t.co/8fykkheahB
— Uber Chelsea FC (@UberChelseaFC_) February 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/_PapaBeats/status/967790073617047552
https://twitter.com/CFCWriter/status/967774635487088640
Just imagine how well #cfc would be playing if #Giroud was up front rather than #Morata…he might at least try to stay on his feet #MUNCHE
— Simon Johnson (@SJohnsonSport) February 25, 2018
from my POV, morata should be off from chelsea this summer. he got no strength upfront. he’s very fragile. i like how giroud plays. he’s full of strength and has a bit of diego’s play styles. giroud MUST start every game ahead of morata based on their performances⚽️
— уαтαяσ (@_JayAgan) February 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/ConteBlueArmy/status/967774800046379013
https://twitter.com/GiroudesqueSZN/status/967903119387648000
https://twitter.com/ygtrece13i/status/964603239877488641
Drop Morata play Giroud ffs.
— S.Colly (@Scolly223) February 25, 2018
Giroud on the bench and you've been playing Morata. Tsk tsk, Conte.
— Abel Bosconovitch (@obisingledigit) February 25, 2018