A lot was said about the poor performances of the Belgian star Eden Hazard for Chelsea the past season in a disastrous year for the blues who eventually sacked their idol boss Jose Mourinho and couldn’t get on track for another UEFA Champions League run for this season.
Hazard had a lot of pressure on his shoulder and was constantly being pointed out by the Portuguese boss, who often blamed him for his team’s horrendous performances through most of the season, something that really hurt the youngster’s confidence.
After Mourinho was let go by Abramovich, Hazard’s form didn’t change much and his level just wasn’t the same as the year before when he was the best player in the whole competition and arguably a top 5 player around the globe.
So this year was going to be key for the Belgian, who had every single eye upon him, as nobody knew what to expect from the former Lille standout, and everybody wanted to see him at his best once again instead of just wandering around the pitch like he did the last year.
Eden, who is rated at €88.9 million by the CIES Football Observatory, has lived up to the expectations so far this season playing under Antonio Conte, and they even have had each other’s back during the blues bad results establishing a great rapport between them, and that’s something that has really shown in the field for the attacking midfielder and his team.
The forward has already equalled his Premier League goals total from the past season, scoring 4 goals in 9 games with an assist while taking 3.1 shots per game with an average player rating of 7.74 according to whoscored.com
Besides scoring, the attacking midfielder has been all over the pitch, providing help on the defensive end when needed and showing great commitment in every single minute he’s been on the pitch, thriving playing alongside Victor Moses and Willian on the sides of the field.
There’s absolutely no doubt of Eden’s talent and if he can play at this high level on a consistent basis, he’ll definitely be once again in the Ballon d’Or talk for the years to come, and it’ll be hard to keep him tied to Stamford Bridge for longer, as there has always been some interest from Real Madrid in the Belgian.
Hazard has been the most important player in Chelsea’s scheme through most of the year, despite Diego Costa being the most prolific goalscorer for Conte’s side this season, and it’s getting harder and harder to try and stop this lethal duo.
His versatility and absurd skillset made Eden one of the biggest talents in the world, and if Chelsea’s going to make a title run, they need their young star at his best, and he has shown he’s up to the task despite being strongly criticised for “disappearing” in the crucial moments for Chelsea.
It’s always nice to see a great player like this one bounce back from a bad year, and we all hope that this slump is quickly forgotten, so we can just sit back and enjoy the great performance of this talented young guy.