Alvaro Morata angry with himself, not me, insists Antonio Conte after striker shows fury during win over Burnley

Morata missed several chances during the match, including a clear one-on-one with the Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope in the second half, firing wide from 12 yards

Alvaro Morata was unhappy to be substituted by Antonio Conte (Getty Images)

Antonio Conte claimed Alvaro Morata was angry with himself, not his manager, after the striker was furious to be substituted during the second half in Chelsea’s 2-1 win at Burnley.

Morata missed several chances during the match, including a clear one-on-one with the Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope in the second half, firing wide from 12 yards.

After he was replaced by Eden Hazard with 20 minutes remaining, the Spaniard made his displeasure known by kicking a water bottle and slamming his shin-pads to the ground.

“I think that Alvaro must be angry because when you have a chance to score, you have to score,” said Conte. ”Especially for a striker, because a lot of time if you can score, it changes your confidence.

“I think he was very angry with himself for the chance he missed but I have to see the whole performance and, even though he didn’t score, I am very happy.”

Morata was paired with Olivier Giroud from the start for the first time since the French forward’s switch from Arsenal in January, and Conte revealed that playing the duo together was in his mind ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final meeting with Southampton at Wembley.

“This could be an option, a possibility, for Sunday or the future. This is the first time I’ve tried this solution with the two strikers and I had a great response from them. When you have players that show you this desire, this will to sacrifice for the team without the ball … it’s great.

Olivier Giroud battles Kevin Long for the ball (Getty Images)

“They played a fantastic game. They put pressure on the ball every moment. We forced them to play these long balls. It’s a great pleasure to see the players with this commitment and fight. To see Giroud and Morata playing this way, to see this combination. This is the right way.”

Chelsea are expected to beat struggling Saints, who remain in the Premier League’s bottom three, but Conte dismissed the idea that it might be a straightforward passage to the final.

“I listened that we are already in final but I remember very well five days ago we were 2-0 down against Southampton. We played a disaster against them.

“If we want to reach the final we must play with the right desire, the right will to show that you want to play another final in FA Cup. It would be the second in a row. This could be great for our fans, for ourselves.

“For me it is not important to make consideration about the season. It’s not my task to judge the season. I have to work with my players. At the end we will see what happens.”

Burnley remain on course for a top-seven finish and a place in next season’s Europa League, and the manager, Sean Dyche, was pleased with his team’s performance despite defeat.

“Chelsea are still a top-class side and they’ve got those little moments that count in a game. But there were a lot of positives for us. The gap is closer than it has been for the last few seasons and we were closer tonight than we have been in the past to these sides.”