Chelsea have been struggling with getting good results since the new year began a month ago. Manager Maurizio Sarri has said that it is almost impossible to motivate this group of players to play at the level that they are capable of. After Chelsea’s embarrassing 4-0 loss to Bournemouth, many believed that this was the start of a monumental collapse for the blues. The London side began the season undefeated for 14 games until Tottenham beat Chelsea by a score of 3-1 in November.
Saturday’s game against Huddersfield proved that all is not lost with this team. Much to the delight of Chelsea fans everywhere, Gonzalo Higuaín, who made his Stamford Bridge debut, scored a brace to open his Chelsea account. Immediately you can see the differences in play between former Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata and Higuain. Morata fancies himself on the ball, being able to dribble around defenders and the goalkeeper to score. This mindset has caused Morata to miss a plethora of chances this season due to the physicality of the Premier League. Higuain on the other hand goes straight to goal and shoots when given even a foot of space. This was evident in Higuain’s first Chelsea goal when midfielder N’golo Kante laid off a beautifully weighted pass for the Argentine striker before curling it into the goal 25 yards away.
Along with Higuain’s two goals, Eden Hazard scored a brace of his own. Defender David Luiz put the cherry on top by adding a goal before the final whistle. Hazard has now been directly involved in half of Chelsea’s goals in the Premier League this season. The Belgian superstar has scored 12 goals and assisted 10 more. Hazard’s future with Chelsea has been a main talking point for the past year now. It is no secret that Hazard has always dreamed of playing for Real Madrid. The Belgian winger has stated multiple times that his favorite team as a child was Madrid and they are always considered one of the best teams in the world. Hazard, who is 28, is in the prime of his career. He has already won the Premier League twice with Chelsea, won the Europa League, and captained Belgium to a bronze medal in the 2018 World Cup.
Amid much speculation that Hazard will go to Madrid in the summer, the winger was quoted as saying, “I know what I am going to do. I have made a decision.”
Chelsea manager Sarri said during an interview, “Eden is 28. If he wants to go, I think he has to go. Of course, I hope the opposite, I hope he wants to stay here.”
Chelsea is currently sitting in fourth place in the Premier League with their next game against second place Manchester City. Staying in the top four and guaranteeing a spot in next year’s Champions League could be a major factor in getting Hazard to stay in London.
