Morata scores hat-trick as Chelsea thump Stoke 4-0
Soccer Football - Premier League - Stoke City vs Chelsea - bet365 Stadium, Stoke-On-Trent, Britain - September 23, 2017 Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata celebrates scoring their third goal REUTERS/Andrew Yates
(Reuters) - Alvaro Morata scored a hat-trick as third-placed Chelsea kept up their pursuit of Manchester's Premier League pace-setters by routing Stoke City 4-0 on Saturday.
Having taken four points from home games against Arsenal and Manchester United, Stoke could hardly have anticipated their terrible start when they conceded on 83 seconds to a neat finish from Morata, his fourth goal of the season and first with his boot.
But without three defenders including Kurt Zouma, Stoke struggled to stifle Chelsea's counter-attacks and conceded again after half-an-hour when Darren Fletcher mistakenly chested the ball into the path of Pedro, whose right-foot shot gave keeper Jack Butland no chance.
Soccer Football - Premier League - Stoke City vs Chelsea - bet365 Stadium, Stoke-On-Trent, Britain - September 23, 2017 Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata scores their fourth goal REUTERS/Andrew Yates
Stoke stayed in the game until Morata finished them off with goals in the 77th and 82nd minutes, first dinking the ball over Butland and then tapping in to take his season's tally to six. Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois suffered an injury after falling heavily but played on.
(Reporting by Neil Robinson; Editing by Toby Davis)
Soccer Football - Premier League - Stoke City vs Chelsea - bet365 Stadium, Stoke-On-Trent, Britain - September 23, 2017 Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata celebrates with Cesar Azpilicueta and Victor Moses after scoring their fourth goal REUTERS/Andrew Yates Soccer Football - Premier League - Stoke City vs Chelsea - bet365 Stadium, Stoke-On-Trent, Britain - September 23, 2017 Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata scores their fourth goal REUTERS/Andrew Yates Soccer Football - Premier League - Stoke City vs Chelsea - bet365 Stadium, Stoke-On-Trent, Britain - September 23, 2017 Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois in action REUTERS/Andrew Yates Soccer Football - Premier League - Stoke City vs Chelsea - bet365 Stadium, Stoke-On-Trent, Britain - September 23, 2017 Stoke City's Erik Pieters in action with Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata REUTERS/Andrew Yates Soccer Football - Premier League - Stoke City vs Chelsea - bet365 Stadium, Stoke-On-Trent, Britain - September 23, 2017 Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata scores their third goal REUTERS/Andrew Yates Soccer Football - Premier League - Stoke City vs Chelsea - bet365 Stadium, Stoke-On-Trent, Britain - September 23, 2017 Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata scores their third goal Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough Soccer Football - Premier League - Stoke City vs Chelsea - bet365 Stadium, Stoke-On-Trent, Britain - September 23, 2017 Referee Mike Dean talks to Chelsea's Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta as Stoke City's Glen Johnson looks on Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough Soccer Football - Premier League - Stoke City vs Chelsea - bet365 Stadium, Stoke-On-Trent, Britain - September 23, 2017 Stoke City's Mame Biram Diouf attempts an overhead kick as Chelsea's Victor Moses looks on Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough Soccer Football - Premier League - Stoke City vs Chelsea - bet365 Stadium, Stoke-On-Trent, Britain - September 23, 2017 Chelsea's Willian in action with Stoke City's Bruno Martins Indi Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough Soccer Football - Premier League - Stoke City vs Chelsea - bet365 Stadium, Stoke-On-Trent, Britain - September 23, 2017 Chelsea's Willian in action with Stoke City's Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting REUTERS/Andrew YatesSoccer Football - Premier League - Stoke City vs Chelsea - bet365 Stadium, Stoke-On-Trent, Britain - September 23, 2017 Chelsea's Pedro celebrates with Cesar Azpilicueta after scoring their second goal Action Images via Reuters/Craig BroughSoccer Football - Premier League - Stoke City vs Chelsea - bet365 Stadium, Stoke-On-Trent, Britain - September 23, 2017 Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata scores their first goal REUTERS/Andrew Yates Soccer Football - Premier League - Stoke City vs Chelsea - bet365 Stadium, Stoke-On-Trent, Britain - September 23, 2017 Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata celebrates with Pedro after scoring their first goal REUTERS/Andrew Yates
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