Under the tutelage of José Mourinho, the 23-year-old has come on leaps and bounds and is beginning to show why the Blues paid £32m to secure his signature in the summer of 2012. Hazard is currently Chelsea's highest rated player (7.65) and by a considerable distance, with centre-back Gary Cahill (7.35) his nearest competitor in that respect.
His performances have been so impressive this season that Mourinho believes only superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi rank above him in terms of ability at present, but that the winger has the potential to reach their level with time. Hazard's greatest asset is his dribbling ability, something he has developed a WhoScored.com strength in.
The trickster has attempted the most dribbles in the Premier League this season (149), and also completed the most (92), at an impressive success rate of 61.7%. Three of the four instances of a player completing more than 10 dribbles in a Premier League game this season have been by Hazard, Hatem Ben Arfa the only other player to have managed the feat.
It would be somewhat unproductive if Hazard were unable to create for his teammates after beating a man, but he's capable of doing so, having executed 62 key passes this term, three fewer than Mesut Özil (65), the German having played the most in Europe's top five leagues. As such, Hazard has provided the most assists for the Blues (five) as he continuously torments opposition defences.
With Chelsea now sitting only two points off top spot on the back of Monday's victory, the former Lille ace will be crucial to Mourinho's side ending the campaign ahead of 'big horses' Arsenal and City and seeing his 'little horse' land their fourth Premier League crown. Hazard has already matched his goal tally from last season (nine) with 14 games left to play and adding to this will significantly bolster the Blues' chances of securing domestic glory, especially if Samuel Eto'o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba continue to fire blanks.
Ahead of a number of winnable fixtures, with Chelsea facing Newcastle, West Brom and Fulham between now and the end of the month, Hazard can aid the club and their push for top spot, while the league meeting with Arsenal next month could prove a turning point the title race. Nonetheless, despite only recently turning 23, the Belgian has the confidence and ability to carry the attacking burden that has been placed on his shoulders.
The display against the Citizens was possibly Hazard's most mature since arriving in England and if he can continue or better his performances of late, there is no reason why Chelsea can't finish top of the table.
4 comments:
Hazard the wizard in the pitch
The guy is playing for now, but he have to hard more straight to his playing
This is not his best yet
I have known the guy since, he was in France, he played four season with award. so I'm not surprise with his performance
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