Chelsea star Eden Hazard has dismissed reports of a rift with his manager Jose Mourinho this season and has even gone so far as to call the Portuguese tactician “the best manager for Chelsea.”, according to ESPN.
Advertisement
Diego Costa grabbed a second-half victor as Chelsea beat Norwich 1-0 in the Premier League on Saturday, ending the champions’ three-match losing run and easing some of the pressure on manager Jose Mourinho.
Both he and Chelsea will be hoping it leads to a climax to the season that encourages him to remain in the Premier League.
“We did and I played well”.
He was outstanding against Norwich, demonstrating the close control and creativity that won him the “footballer of the year” award in May.
Half a dozen new arrivals will turn Chelsea’s season into a damage limitation exercise to salvage something – perhaps just pride – after this woeful start. “So, yes, there is a bit of relief but fundamentally I’m happy for the players because they are working well and they deserved it”. Sometimes not. When you play against compact teams, like Norwich, it’s hard to find space.
He operated centrally, in the role he covets, behind Diego Costa who scored the only goal, having urged Mourinho to release him from the left-wing during a head-to-head meeting before last month’s Capital One Cup tie in Stoke.
Hazard agrees: “It’s my fourth season now”. I was feeling it and the gamers have been feeling it too.
“At the time when I was in my room watching it I couldn’t think about anything else but when it came to playing, when I’m on the pitch that’s the only place where I don’t think about anything else except playing football”. Maybe there is more attention on me now.
He has discussed it with his manager.
So say we all. “Maybe I have to play at number 10 because we have to try”.
“Every top player that is not performing well they feel it probably more than the others that are not so good”, Mourinho said. I think when you are full of confidence it’s not just about goals, it’s also about – I don’t know if it’s the right word – but fluent. He is the best manager for Chelsea.
“I said to him ‘Maybe we have to try to change something”.
“I heard a lot of things about this, but no, everything is good with him”, Hazard added.
“We’re delighted to win”, Terry told Chelsea TV ahead of the Champions League trip to Maccabi Tel Aviv on Tuesday. League leaders Leicester City have double the points and with one-third of the season already done with, the ascent to the top looks increasingly hard.
The Spain striker had earlier missed two sitters, betraying his lack of confidence.
But Alex Neil’s side will see the defeat as an opportunity lost – the Canaries were a potent threat in the first half, with Robbie Brady a constant irritant to Branislav Ivanovic down the left flank.
Advertisement
He was replaced by Cameron Jerome.
