GOD GAVE HAZARD THE TALENT, HE MUST EXPLOIT IT, INSISTS CONTE

ANTONIO CONTE has urged Eden Hazard to seize the opportunity of returning to the Champions League this season to fully “exploit” his talent and finally replicate the relentlessness of Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi – but admitted it was also his task as a manager to bring that out.

While the Chelsea boss was gushing in his praise of Hazard, Conte did say he feels that the playmaker is often too happy to settle for one goal in a game, in contrast to the two greats. The Italian thereby also echoed of previous Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, after Hazard returned to full fitness in glorious fashion.

It is of course something that has been so regularly said of the 26-year-old because he isn’t quite as devastating as he could be regularly enough. The feeling has often been that his satisfactory level of drive hasn’t always matched the exquisite level of his talent, and is something his father has even discussed with his coaches.

“I think he has a style to improve in this specific situation,” Conte said ahead of the champions’ home match against Manchester City.

“I think that, sometimes, Eden is... If he scores one goal, he’s happy and then, if there is another situation, he prefers to make an assist rather than scoring twice.

“I see, for Ronaldo, that if he scores once he wants two, three, four. It’s the same for Messi. Yes, he (Hazard) can improve. But I think that, during the games, when you create – for example, at Atletico, he was important because he put the ball in for Alvaro (Morata) to score our goal... It’s very important that he is important in every game for us, to make chances, to score or to provide assists for our players.

“But, as you know very well, Eden for sure is a top player. I think in this season he has a big opportunity. A big opportunity. Because, this season, we can play in the Champions League. I think the Champions League, together with the Premier League, is important for a player to show you are a top player and can compete to be the best. “Eden, in every game, he finds a way to be decisive during a game. To score or to make an assist for a team-mate. I love this. I love this from him. I ask this of him because one player with his talent, it’s important as a coach to ask him to be decisive every game. If God gives you this talent, you must exploit this talent. My task is sometimes to try and push him to be decisive in every moment, in every game.” (© Independent News Service)