Alvaro Morata says Chelsea ‘sent a message to all the Premier League’ with thumping win at Stoke City

Hat-trick hero Alvaro Morata says Chelsea sent a message to their Premier League rivals with their thumping victory at Stoke.

The reigning champions thrashed Mark Hughes’ side 4-0 on Saturday to consolidate third place in the league table.

Morata has now scored six goals in Premier League in six appearances since his arrival from Real Madrid in the summer.

And the 24-year-old Blues striker said that results like that will see his side fight for the title again this season.

Speaking to the club’s official website after the match, he said: “It’s football. Sometimes the ball doesn’t [go in], like against Arsenal, and against Stoke, we had two chances and made two goals.

“We sent a good message to all the Premier League,” he added. ‘Chelsea is in the fight for the title and it’s the thing that we want.

“The most important thing is we won. It’s a difficult place to come but we won and now we can look ahead to the Champions League.”