The Irish Mail on Sunday

BEST IN EUROPE!

Sarri sets 40-goal target for hat-trick hero Hazard and hails Chelsea star as...

- By Riath Al-Samarrai

FIRST, Maurizio Sarri spilled a bottle of water across the table in his press conference, then he poured out his heart to Eden Hazard.

It was quite the declaratio­n of affection but that’s because it really was quite the performanc­e. Three chances, three goals, three points and a job extremely well done from a little genius who has taken Chelsea on a merry dance to the top of the Premier League.

The question of whether this team can stay there is premature, particular­ly in the mind of Sarri. But on the matter of where Hazard ranks as an individual talent, the Italian was more bullish.

Hazard, he said, is capable of 40 goals this season. More than that, Sarri rates him as the best player in Europe. Some claim, but hat-tricks lay a good foundation for any argument, and plainly Hazard is surfing a wave at present, having scored five in the campaign to go with two assists. If you factor in the two fixtures he just played for Belgium, that goes to seven goals in seven.

It is looking a lot like his best form and when Hazard reaches those levels he is, as Cardiff manager Neil Warnock admitted, ‘unplayable’. Sarri was not only on the same page, but evidently willing to write an entire love letter.

‘I thought Hazard was one of the best players in Europe, but now I am changing my mind — that he is the best,’ Sarri said. ‘I think he can score 30 or 35 goals this season.’

Within a couple of minutes, that estimate had grown.

‘Eden only arrived back two days ago (from internatio­nal duty). Yesterday I told him for me he can score 40 goals.’

The beauty or the frustratio­n of Hazard, depending on your point of view, is that he can improve. Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte tended to believe it could come via a greater contributi­on to the pressing operations of their sides, but it was interestin­g to hear Sarri make the argument for him to stay further forward, saving his strength for more meaningful areas of the pitch.

‘I think he can spend less energy than now,’ he said. ‘I want him to play more in the last 25 metres.’

Certainly, those forward areas are where Chelsea excel. Their attacking quality has never been better illustrate­d than the sight of a marvellous player in Willian being stuck on the bench because of the better form of Pedro.

When the latter was subbed off following a good performanc­e in favour of the former, Willian proceeded to win a penalty, then scored a late beauty to make it 4-1. Not bad for a cameo of barely 20 minutes; not bad for a show of attacking depth. But among the reasons why Sarri is reluctant to talk up Chelsea’s title hopes is their defence, which was shown up again here when Cardiff took the lead.

Given the Welsh club are not known for their scoring prowess, it was alarming for Sarri to see his side cough up a free header to Sol Bamba after six minutes, then fall behind on 16 minutes to a set-piece. Joe Ralls had floated a reasonably unthreaten­ing free-kick to the edge of Chelsea’s area, but Marcos Alonso lost the aerial duel to Sean Morrison and then Jorginho was beaten by Bamba to the loose ball. Two lost battles in the kind of passage that enrages managers.

As Sarri put it: ‘I think we are very dangerous in the offensive phase but we are not so solid as I want in the defensive phase.’

True on both points, but no opponent has yet been able to meaningful­ly capitalise on that imbalance.

Indeed, so far only Arsenal of the traditiona­l big clubs have been faced, so it will be intriguing to see how Chelsea fare against Liverpool at the end of the month. In this one, they did what they were largely allowed to do by the opposition, but they will be heartened greatly by the contributi­on of Olivier Giroud, whose link-up play was key to Hazard’s first two goals for 1-1 and 2-1.

Giroud is increasing­ly looking like a better option than Alvaro Morata, particular­ly in games against deep-lying defences.

The third goal, also scored by Hazard, came from the penalty spot after Bamba fouled Willian and the fourth came when Willian hit a curler into the top corner. Chelsea have five wins from five, but Sarri is not yet willing to see his team as genuine contenders.

‘At the moment, I repeat, in my opinion Liverpool and Manchester City are better than us,’ he said.

Maybe so. But with Hazard in this form it gets easier to disagree.

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