Heading into this season, Chelsea were a very trendy pick to finish in the top four. Most pundits had the Blues finishing third. Some experts had them second, with a very small handful picking Stamford Bridge to win the title.
Of course, the idea of Chelsea getting back into UEFA Champions League was contingent on Eden Hazard reverting back to the form he had two years ago when Chelsea won it all. According to the Belgian, he’s not reached that level, he’s surpassed it.
Following Chelsea’s 3-1 win over Arsenal, Hazard said that he’s fine with opposing defenders targeting him more now than they did when he played under Jose Mourinho.
“It’s true. When I get a lot of kicks, I feel really in the game,” Hazard said after the weekend’s Premier League fixture headliner.
“And when people don’t touch me, it tells me I’m not doing well. No good. I’m not saying I like to be kicked, but it’s good for me to feel I am in the game. Definitely. A motivation.”
“I try to be this kind of player: the type who does something whenever he gets the ball. Sometimes in the past I’ve gone through games where I’ve not touched the ball for 20 or 30 minutes. These days I’m always trying to have lots of touches, to be involved and to play my football for 90 minutes.”
“The manager asks a lot of me. A lot. When we don’t have the ball, he wants me to defend, to close inside and be ready to chase the diagonal [pass], and when we do have it I have to counter-attack and be free, always trying to do some ‘magic’ like I did here.
“With experience, you improve. I’m a better player now, more complete than I was when I was player of the year.”
As Eden Hazard rises and falls, so have the Blues the past two years. Earlier this season Hazard was hailed as “fantastic” by his manager Antonio Conte.
“I’m pleased for him, but also for Pedro as a winger,” Conte told the media after a late August 3-0 win over Burnley. “These are players with great talent, fantastic in one versus one.”
“When you have these players with great talent, it’s good for me to put them in the best condition to excite with this talent. Eden is a fantastic player, working very well with a great attitude. After the first day, I saw this.
“His will to work and improve and find a good shape very soon, but I can also tell that his performance can improve. I’m pleased with his commitment and work-rate.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, Bold and the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication, appears regularly as a guest on CGTN America, WGN CLTV News and KOZN.
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