Former Chelsea defender Mario Melchiot believes the club cannot solely rely on talisman Eden Hazard if they have any aspirations of clinching the Premier League title.
The Belgian marvel has taken his game to another level under the guidance of Maurizio Sarri this season, playing with less restriction and devastating precision as he sits atop the goalscoring chart – with seven in the league.
As a result, the Blues currently sit second in the Premier League, level on points with leaders Manchester City and third-place Liverpool, but Melchiot is convinced Sarri’s side will need to demonstrate more conviction across the pitch and not just in the final third.
Having said that, the Dutchman further believes that Hazard cannot shoulder the goalscoring burden by himself, calling on the likes of Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata to step up to the plate.
“There are more people in the Liverpool team who can score goals,” said Melchiot, via the Premier League’s official website. “If you look at Chelsea, it’s almost only him [Hazard, who scores].
“The only difference for them to come closer to the likes of Manchester City and trying to challenge them, and Liverpool, and anybody else in this League that is going after the title, is they need more than just Hazard to score goals.”
Hazard produced another phenomenal display at the St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday as Chelsea humbled a beleaguered Southampton side 3-0, with the pint-sized magician pulling the creative strings and producing another man-of-the-match performance – his fifth in the league this term.
Eden Hazard's game by numbers vs. Southampton:
99 touches
74 passes
5 shots
5 crosses
4 chances created
3 fouls won
2 aerial duels won
2 through balls
1 assist
1 goalUntouchable right now.
pic.twitter.com/QQnF3bQC4Q
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The 27-year-old opened the scoring in the first half after firing home a right-footed effort past Alex McCarthy, before providing a late assist for Morata, who slotted home the Blues’ third.
Chelsea are currently unbeaten across all competitions this season, and Hazard has been integral to that run, notably for his match-winning performance against Liverpool in the Football League Cup last month.
Hazard and Co will next pit their wits against Manchester United in the Premier League after the international break.
Liverpool and City: shared goalscoring responsibility
Looking at the goalscorers for all three clubs this season, there is a stark contrast in the shared responsibility at Man City and Liverpool for sticking the ball in the back of the net.
For Chelsea, Hazard has netted seven in the league, with Pedro scoring three and Morata netting two. Whereas for City, Sergio Aguero has five, Raheem Sterling has four and David Silva, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez all have two apiece.
Likewise for Liverpool, Sadio Mane has four, Mohamed Salah has three, and both Roberto Firmino and Daniel Sturridge have two each.
The post Chelsea need more than just Hazard to challenge Liverpool and Man City – Melchiot appeared first on Squawka News.
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