• Morata now ‘very happy’ after five goals in six matches • Spanish forward says back injury took an emotional toll

Álvaro Morata has revealed his confidence hit rock bottom towards the end of his first season at Chelsea when his form fizzled out as he laboured with a back injury. But the Spain striker is now more at ease in body and mind and reaping the benefits.

Two goals against Crystal Palace on Sunday swelled Morata’s recent tally to five in six matches, a burst more reminiscent of his prolific start at Stamford Bridge following a £58m transfer from Real Madrid in the summer of 2017. His previous 31 matches had yielded four goals after a back injury, which flared in January and initially baffled the medical staff, blunted his impact.

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The forward is now restored to fitness but a player whom Maurizio Sarri acknowledged as “fragile” after the weekend’s 3-1 win admits his real battle has been to recover mentally from last season’s toils.

“The most important thing is that, finally, I have found the right way and my head is OK,” Morata said. “In football physical condition is veryimportant but the head is the most important thing.

“If you don’t have the head, if the mentality is not good, then you are in trouble. I’m better.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Álvaro Morata: ‘I had a period where ... if it was raining, I was angry because it’s raining’ Photograph: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

“No one, only my wife, knows how big the last year was. Now it’s OK. In the last month of last season I was down, down, down, down. I cannot be more down. When you touch the limit, the only thing you can do is to come back.

“It takes long because I had an injury, I was not fit when playing, but now I feel good. I had a period where everything … if it was raining, I was angry because it’s raining; if I miss, it’s because the pitch is too wet. It was only excuses. It is not good.

“Honestly, last year I was always joking in the dressing room at the beginning because I started well and was scoring goals. But the injury, it killed me, because the doctors didn’t know what I had. It was strange. Sometimes when you know you are out for one month, it’s OK in your head, because you know it is one month. But when you are trying to give your best and you are not in your best moment, it’s difficult. Now, that’s the past.

“Everyone can have a bad period in their life. But we are famous, we have a lot of things. Sometimes people think we are not human, with no feelings, with no problems. The important thing is to find the right balance.

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“Now, I have, and I am very happy. The important thing is the team. I know that sometimes I am in the middle of all the criticism when the team drops [points] or when the team loses. But it doesn’t matter. I want to win with this team and we have a very good chance.”

Morata, whose wife gave birth to twins in July, might have completed a hat-trick against Palace only to opt to chip Wayne Hennessey, at 6ft 6in, from close range after sprinting through on goal in stoppage time. “I suffered a lot in the past and needed to score three for myself, for my team and for the supporters,” he said. “It was very important for me. Honestly, I think I missed because I had only this in my head.

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“If I don’t think, probably I score. In the last 10 minutes I only have in my head ‘I want to bring the ball home’ and that’s why I missed. The goalkeeper did well. I thought he’d go down and I forgot he’s a keeper who is two metres tall and that’s why I failed. But I’m improving and this is the important thing.”