SIMPLY THE BEST
CHELSEA BOSS RAVES ABOUT HAT-TRICK HERO HAZARD
MAuRIZIo SARRI is not one for brash statements. It is why he refuses to consider his Chelsea side as title contenders despite their perfect record. It is also why his insistence that Eden Hazard is the best player in Europe should be taken seriously.
After all, few could argue with him given the Belgian’s flawless start to this season. Whether it be down to a sense of injustice at World Cup heartache this summer, a desire to show Real Madrid what they have passed up on, or something as simple as thriving under a new coach, Hazard has been unplayable.
In seven matches for club and country, he has either scored or assisted. Saturday’s hat-trick against Cardiff City took his tally to seven goals in those games.
Perhaps surprisingly, it was only the 27-year-old’s second treble in a blue shirt, some four-and-a-half years after his first against Newcastle. We should not have to wait as long for the next, if Sarri is to be believed. ‘ I thought Hazard was one of the best players in Europe but now I am changing my mind. He is the best,’ the Chelsea boss said.
Asked if his No 10 can challenge for the golden boot, the Italian replied: ‘I think so. I have talked with Eden and told him that he can score 40 goals.
‘He has to improve some things but he can do it. Does he believe me? If you have seen the match today, you will say yes.’
They are not the only two convinced. Team-mate Marcos Alonso insists the example set by Mohamed Salah at Liverpool last season is one Hazard can follow.
He said: ‘We saw last year Salah fight for it and they play more or less the same position, as a winger coming inside. If he keeps playing this way, why not? He’s one of the best for sure.
‘He has started very well after a very good World Cup. He’s playing awesome football. We all have to help him to score goals and help him to continue like this.’
Help they did on Saturday. Alonso was involved in his second, an intelligent, quickly thought out move that saw the Spaniard lay off to Pedro, whose low cross was delicately touched into the path of Hazard by olivier Giroud. The Belgian did the rest.
After spending so long last season attempting to unpick defences by himself, Hazard has been given his own crack team of locksmiths by Sarri and is reaping the benefits.
For the fourth time in the Premier League they have started a season with five wins on the bounce. No other side have done this. on two of those occasions they went on to lift the title, in 2006 and 2010.
However, Sarri refuses to get carried away. He need only point to the inability of Carlo Ancelotti to build on a perfect start to the 2010-11 season, his successor at Napoli providing the cautionary reminder that a title tilt is a marathon and not a sprint.
In any case, Sarri believes his side are not there just yet.
‘In this moment, two teams — Liverpool and Manchester City — are better than the others,’ said Sarri. ‘We have to improve step by step. But as I said before, my target is to become the best team in England in one year or in 18 months. The target is this.’
To hit that target, improvements will be needed at the back. Cardiff manager Neil Warnock suggested there are weaknesses in the Chelsea side that a better side could take advantage of, and Sarri agreed.
‘He is right because we are dangerous in the offensive phase but in the defensive phase we need to improve and we need to improve very quick,’ said Sarri.
‘I have to organise better the defensive phase and the players have to understand that.’
urgency is the name of the game for Warnock, too. Defeat at Stamford Bridge was his seventh match without a win, his worst run with Cardiff and the club’s worst start to a top-flight campaign in nearly 100 years. It is also the first time the 69-year-old has endured 11 winless Premier League games in a row.
The Welsh club have been done no favours by the fixture list, with champions Manchester City next up. After giving a commendable account of themselves against another top opponent, though, Warnock insists his team are far from a hopeless cause.
‘You haven’t got to get too down when you look at the circumstances and there are three worse teams than us,’ he said. CHELSEA (4-3-3): Arrizabalaga 6; Azpilicueta 6, Luiz 6, Rudiger 6, Alonso 6.5; Kante 7, Jorginho 6, Kovacic 6.5 (Barkley 50min, 6); Pedro 7 (Willian 68, 7), Giroud 8, HAZARD 8.5 (Zappacosta 84). Subs not used: Caballero, Christensen, Drinkwater, Morata. Booked: None. Scorers: Hazard 37, 44, 80 (pen), Willian 83. Manager: Maurizio Sarri 7. CARDIFF CITY (4-4-2): Etheridge 7; Manga 6.5, Morrison 6, Bamba 6.5, Bennett 6; Camarasa 6, Ralls 6.5, Arter 6 (Richards 46, 6), Hoilett 6; Reid 6.5 (Paterson 71, 6), Ward 6.5 (Madine 77). Subs not used: B Murphy, Peltier, Cunningham, Zohore. Scorer: Bamba 16. Booked: None. Manager: Neil Warnock 7. Referee: Jonathan Moss 7.5. Attendance: 40,499.