Chelsea boss Antonio Conte: 'Alvaro Morata has lots of potential'

Antonio Conte has suggested that the best of Alvaro Morata in a Chelsea shirt is still to come after the striker ended his scoring drought with a goal against Leicester City.

The 25-year-old, who was this week left out of the Spain squad for their upcoming friendly internationals, bagged his first goal of 2018 with the opener in Sunday's 2-1 FA Cup win in the East Midlands.

Morata's scoreless run had spanned 13 matches since Boxing Day but, having played a key part in Chelsea's route through to the semi-finals, Conte was quick to talk up the "potential" of the £60m summer signing.

"He played a good game. He showed great commitment and scored an important goal," he told BBC Sport. "The most important thing is that he works very well for the team with and without the ball. He has potential. He is a young player and this is his first full season in England."

Conte also reserved special praise for N'Golo Kante, who impressed against his former suitors by breaking up play and setting up Pedro's extra-time winner.

"N'Golo is a fantastic player. He is incredible the quality that he puts into every game," the Italian said. "He played a fantastic game against Barcelona and now Leicester. But the performance of the whole team was good. We also have to thank our fans. They pushed us a lot."

Chelsea will face Southampton in next month's semi-final, while Tottenham Hotspur lock horns with Manchester United in the other final-four affair.