Should Jose Mourinho Keep the Belgian Superstar Out of Chelsea’s Starting Line-up?

“It was just a tactical decision, leaving super quality on the bench, but bringing tactical discipline and hoping that the team could be solid. Willian and Pedro did amazing defensive work and allowed the midfield players to be very comfortable. I continue that way, or he comes in our direction and tries to replicate the same work that Willian and Pedro did.”

These were the words of Jose Mourinho when he spoke after the 2-0 win over a hapless Aston Villa team. Mourinho was referring to Eden Hazard, who was left on the bench. Last season’s PFA player of the year was expected to hit the heights of Messi and Ronaldo this season, but the likes of Bolasie and Gayle seem to be having a better season than the Belgian.

Many would wonder why Mourinho is dropping Hazard but this was one measure to ensure that Chelsea are better defensively as the other wingers do provide more stability to Chelsea when they have to face the opposition, the flipside of the coin is that Chelsea are sacrificing attacking ability with Hazard on the bench, so what is the right thing for them to do?

A Hazard-ous route to wins?

If we are to look at the stats of the Chelsea players this season, thanks to Squawka.com, Hazard is the best passer of the ball when compared to his other wingers. Hazard has a pass accuracy of 87%, the same as Willian and also provides a greater number of key passes per game than the Brazilian winger. He even has better passing stats than Oscar, in fact, the only midfielder/attacker who has a better passing percentage is Matic and most of his passes aren’t attacking in nature.

When it comes to defensive actions, though Hazard doesn’t provide enough to Chelsea, well not as much as Willian does but just slightly. Willian has averaged more interceptions and clearances than Hazard and that seems to be something that Mourinho might have picked up on. Of course, this could just be Jose letting the Belgian know that he has to do his bit when the team lose the ball.

We all remember the Portuguese manager speaking when Chelsea lost to Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League knockout stage and Hazard was partly responsible for the goals that the Blues conceded at Stamford Bridge.

This led to speculation that the Belgian might be sold in the summer, but nothing of that sort happened, instead Hazard took the criticism on the chin and started playing his socks off next season.

He started tracking back more and doing better in the final third of the pitch also. One thing is a certainty, Chelsea do not seem to be the same side as last season, it isn’t just Hazard who hasn’t been playing well, it is mostly the entire team that is having a poor season. This might be a tactic by Jose to get Hazard playing better and harder in the upcoming games and hopefully this should lead to Hazard and Chelsea’s season getting back on track.