Undoubtedly Chelsea’s star man, Eden Hazard is nothing short of a world class player. Producing match-winning performances comes as second nature to the Belgian. And his latest performance against West Ham shows us why the Chelsea faithful want him to stay at Stamford Bridge amidst rumors of a summer transfer to Real Madrid.
Hazard scored both goals in a 2-0 home win against fellow Londoners West Ham, as they moved up to third in the league. Hazard’s first goal was a thing of beauty indeed.
As he picked up the ball in midfield, Hazard wove his way past the West Ham midfield and defense line, slaloming past challenges and taking on as many as five Hammers’ players before stroking the ball past Fabianski to give the Blues the lead. It was a goal that was dubbed a “classic” Hazard goal, leaving fans and admirers speechless.
The goal was so good that it brought the power slide celebration out of “retirement”, as Hazard had previously mentioned not resorting to that celebration due to burns and bruises caused by sliding on the turf. The Belgian bagged his second goal late on, taking his tally to 16 league goals for the season.
With the brace, Hazard has now scored more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo in the Premier league, with both players having played seven seasons in the top flight. Hazard’s second was his 85th in the league, one more than Ronaldo.
With his second goal of the night, @hazardeden10 has now passed Cristiano Ronaldo in all-time Premier League scoring.
Both have played seven Premier League seasons. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/9xDEeIt7Gs
— Chelsea FC USA (@ChelseaFCinUSA) April 8, 2019
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri said in an interview after the match that his number 10 played a “wonderful match”, while also stating that the Belgian’s recent performances have been top notch.
While names like Van Dijk and Sterling are constantly mentioned when talking about top-class and consistent performances in the league this season, one could argue that Hazard too is one among them, terrorizing defenses constantly, scoring crucial and spectacular goals, bagging loads of assists and churning out stellar performances.
If it is anything to go by, Hazards stats in the West Ham game are proof of his quality and reputation. Some believe that Hazard’s performance was the best and most well-rounded one this league campaign. The stats speak for themselves.
https://twitter.com/statsfootbal/status/1115356311569539072
Directly involved in 28 of Chelsea’s 57 league goals this season, it is no doubt that he is a manager’s dream and a defender’s nightmare. Of all the Belgian’s to have graced the Premier League, is Eden Hazard the best of the lot?
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[…] stole the show with his sparkling performance, but a young Englishman also showcased why he is so highly rated and […]