Chelsea assistant manager Gianfranco Zola has warned critics of the club's strikers that they misunderstand the role of the center-forward in Maurizio Sarri's system. Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud have faced scrutiny this season due to their failure to make chances pay with the Spaniard have struggled for confidence in front of goal while the Frenchman needed to wait until the 1-0 win away in Belarus last week to break a dry spell that began in May.
Eden Hazard is currently the club's top scorer in the Premier League with eight goals. He has also laid on four assists. Morata is the second highest scorer with four goals but his misses has been more notable than his finishes at times. Giroud is yet to score a league goal under Sarri.
However, Zola has defended the two forwards given their other duties in the team.
"You probably expect the main strikers to be the main scorers but sometimes that's not the case," he said in an interview with reporters. "Especially if you play differently.
"Sarri asks the strikers to do a lot of work for the team, and even if they don't score, they are very important for the team.
I think they are learning about this. At the moment they are busy doing this and have less attention for scoring. But it will come. I'm 100% it will come.
"Also they have a good attitude on the pitch and in the week."
Michy Batshuyai is another option for Chelsea up front although the Belgian is currently on-loan at Valencia. Academy product Tammy Abraham has been sent to Aston Villa for the season.
Therefore Sarri must make the most of Giroud and Morata's talents, and Zola believes that the two strikers will soon begin to find goals as well as work hard for the team.
"The strikers for Maurizio, they always score a lot of goals," he said. "Maybe not at the beginning, but in the end, they score.

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