There may have been a bit of recency bias involved in Hazard’s initial response to Lee Parker’s question on Chelsea TV, but the Chelsea match-winner eventually settled on “one of the best” as far as rating the goal at Anfield on Wednesday night that propelled the Blues into the fourth round of the League Cup and left everyone else gasping “wow”.
“I have scored some goals like that! Not all the time. It is on the top of the list, top three. I remember around two years ago, the one against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. That one was nice.
“This one also is one of the best, especially when you score against a big team and win the game. That’s the most important thing.”
Eden’s always been a team-first player, perhaps to his own detriment, though with 6 goals on the season already in all competitions, he’s finding his own shots these days as well (West Ham United match exempted). But even in previous years, he’s tended to step up on the big occasion, against the big teams, under the prime time lights, and he did so again last night, much to Liverpool’s chagrin.
Eden Hazard vs the top six:
— bet365 (@bet365) September 26, 2018
Man Utd - 5 goals and 5 assists
Tottenham - 5 goals and 3 assists
Arsenal - 5 goals and 3 assists
Liverpool - 5 goals and 2 assists
Man City - 4 goals and 5 assists
Big, Game. Player. pic.twitter.com/LojPmpyl3h
The goal was his fourth at Anfield in six appearances, and that’s certainly a remarkable record.
“I like to play in these kinds of stadiums. The atmosphere is fantastic, from the Chelsea fans also who were awesome. I want to be a big player, if I want to be a big player, then I need to score in big games. That’s what I did today.”
-Eden Hazard; source: Chelsea TV via Metro.
Hazard may have been only a substitute in this match — a planned change, as assistant coach Zola revealed afterwards — but he will surely start the next game, on Saturday, against these same Reds at Stamford Bridge. It will probably be a different game, with different players starting from yesterday’s well-rotated sides, but Hazard and Chelsea can draw plenty of confidence from not only winning, but also playing very well once already against the league leaders away from home.
“I am happy. Not just me, the team did well. We are playing good football. Today against a tough opponent you see we can control the game. I can score goals and create chances, that’s why I am on the pitch.
“This game [gives us] confidence in three days. We won today. We will change some players; they will change some players but we want to win again, like we did today [...] It’s going to be a good day for us, I hope.”
-Eden Hazard; source: Chelsea TV
So say we all.