You know it was a good day when the Eden Hazard Rabona made an appearance.
(Then one from Oscar, too.)
The showboat was back in town and the party was just starting. For those who don't know — I'm looking at you, professional football commentator Tony Gale — the Rabona is when you kick the ball with your inside foot by wrapping it around your standing foot. We know that Hazard is quite capable with his left foot (the old joke a few years ago was that left foot was the power, right foot the finesse); this was just showmanship. Hazard, after all, is in the entertainment business. And business this season has been great.
Another business that's going well is the business of winning. Four from four, and the promise of many more. Hazard visibly tired (and/or dialed it back) past the hour mark, but before that, it was as flawless of a performance as we've ever seen from the Belgian wonderman. Direct running, dribbling, creating, even shooting (seven shots is more than I can ever recall him taking for Chelsea in one match) and tracking back — he had it all today.
Antonio Conte is of course a student of the School of Continuous Improvement, and he's not about to let Hazard skate on these middling glories.
"Eden is fantastic, he's working very well with a great attitude. After the first day, I saw this - his will to work and improve and to find a good shape."
"I also can tell Eden his performance can improve a lot but I'm please for his commitment, and work rate. I've seen the right attitude from all the players."
-Antonio Conte; source: Evening Standard
There's work to be done in the future, though for now, it's time for an international break (ugh).