Unplayable
Chelsea back on track after Hazard’s sublime half-hour
For the first 15 minutes, Eden Hazard was all arms outstretched and frustration. For the next 30 minutes, he was just about unplayable, and that was enough for Chelsea.
Fortunately, it was Hazard’s impact and not the actions or chants of any Chelsea supporters that left a lasting impression, following a week of shame for the Stamford Bridge club.
The victory over Manchester City had been overshadowed by the alleged racist abuse aimed at Raheem Sterling, and there was antisemitic chanting heard at the Europa League victory over MOL Vidi. Thankfully, the visiting fans in Brighton behaved themselves and it was a brilliant half-hour from Hazard, who limped off near the end with a sore ankle, that was the talking point.
Deployed for a second successive match as a “false nine”, with Alvaro Morata out injured and fellow striker Olivier Giroud on the substitutes’ bench, Hazard scored his first goal in 12 games for club and country and added a ninth assist in all competitions for Chelsea.
“Eden is OK,” said head coach Maurizio Sarri. “It’s only a knock. I spoke with the doctor five minutes ago and it’s not a big problem. Maybe one day to rest, two at most. For us, he could be very important in this position. He’s very able to come out and play with his teammates, able to create spaces. Now I think that, in that position, he has to improve in attacking the box.”
Hazard had cut an annoyed figure with both his team-mates and the opposition after spending the majority of the opening stages chasing lost causes or being fouled, but once he started to roam and the rest of his team stopped trying to play the ball into his feet, everything started to click. He dropped deep, pulled out to the left and sniffed out opportunity in much the same way N’golo Kante senses danger.
It was in the 17th minute that Hazard properly came to life, when he turned provider for Pedro by picking up the loose ball from his own blocked shot, riding a couple of challenges and finding his teammate to score at the back post.
Crucially for Chelsea, while Hazard was not scoring, he was still making goals, but his barren run was about to end, thanks in part to some terrible play by the hosts. Leon Balogun passed the ball straight to Willian, who immediately sent Hazard through on goal. Rather than curl a shot inside Mat Ryan’s left-hand post, the 27-yearold pulled the ball into the opposite corner of the net. It was a wonderful finish and the latest example of how Hazard thinks differently to most players.
It is hard to see Morata forcing Sarri into a rethink any time soon, while Giroud seems to be viewed as an option from the bench or for the cup competitions. The Frenchman replaced Hazard in the 84th minute after a quieter second half from Chelsea’s star man, but his impact had been enough to clinch all three points, despite the home side pulling a goal back and applying some late pressure that annoyed Sarri.
Chelsea should have been out of sight before Brighton made sure of a more difficult final 25 minutes for the visitors.
Antonio Rudiger headed a corner wide near the end of the first half and Marcos Alonso smashed a shot against a post in the 64th minute, shortly before Brighton netted.
Sarri had been preparing to send Ruben Loftus-cheek on as his defenders failed to deal with a high ball into the area, Bernardo headed it back across goal and Solly March reacted quicker than David Luiz to beat Kepa Arrizabalaga.
“I think that when we have the feeling of being in full control of the match, we are dangerous for ourselves,” said Sarri. “Suddenly, the level of application and attention is lowered. I think [their goal was] the first situation in our box after 30 minutes. The feeling when we are sure of being in control of the match is dangerous for us.”
Chelsea survived a late scare when Alonso got away with a yellow card after pulling back March as the Brighton midfielder ran in on goal. The home team wasted the free-kick, and Lewis Dunk headed a stoppage-time chance wide as Chelsea hung on.
Brighton manager Chris Hughton felt Alonso should have been shown a straight red card and claimed the left-back had been lucky not to be booked earlier in the game. “My first impression was that it was a red card,” he said.
“Having seen it again, I do understand that it’s a difficult decision with the pace on the ball and whether Solly would have been right through.
“I still think there are referees who would have sent him off as the last man, but he should have been on a yellow card anyway. He pulled back Anthony Knockaert, which is generally always a yellow card.
“There were two incidents. He should have been on a yellow. If someone pulls someone back on more than one occasion, it should be a yellow.”
Hughton added: “The fourth official, Kevin Friend, explained it to me. He didn’t think Solly would have been in control of the ball. Because he’s last man and because of the intensity of the game, there would have been a lot of referees who would have sent him off.”