Carragher: ‘Hazard the best in the Premier League’

Hazard has enjoyed the best start to a Premier League season in his Chelsea career so far.

As with most World Cup stars, he was given an extended holiday after the tournament and missed some of Chelsea’s pre-season.

The Belgium worldwide winger has started the season in electric form for Maurizio Sarri’s men, netting five times in the Premier League already this term.

Mourinho led Chelsea FC to the 2014-15 Premier League title and the League Cup before the Portuguese head coach was sacked in December 2015.

Furthermore, the new expansive tactics deployed by Sarri has swelled optimism around the club though it remains to be seen whether their early season form can be sustained.

“He’s a low-maintenance footballer, I think, Chelsea have done really well to hang onto him for the past couple of years”, he said.

Chelsea have left Eden Hazard at home for their Europa League opener against PAOK Salonika in Greece.

They now sit joint-top of the league with Liverpool, although they are ahead due to a better goal difference, and Stamford Bridge is a much happier place to be than it was at times in Antonio Conte’s final season.

If it’s not Mohamed Salah regarded as the best, then David de Gea and Kevin De Bruyne are in contention for most fans. We will try to do the same as the last game. “The only thing I don’t like in Chris at this moment is the haircut but I am nobody to tell him that”.

Their league clash in January (a 4-3 win to Liverpool) was unquestionably the game of the season and ended all hopes for Man City going through the league campaign undefeated. For me, he is a very good player.

“I know that here in London there are lots of derbies but we have our first against Chelsea, at the top of the table so that is one motivation more to beat them”.

After the game on Thursday, the Blues travel to West Ham for a London derby in the Premier League on Sunday.