Chelsea Will See the Best of Eden Hazard in 2014-15 Season

Chelsea’s Eden Hazard won the club’s Player of the Year award last season but was not happy with the overall performance of the Stamford Bridge side. Speaking to the Chelsea magazine, Hazard said in May (via Martin Lipton at The Mirror):

"

This season was an 'almost' season - almost getting to the Champions League final, almost champions in the Premier League. I hope next season will be better and we can go to the next level.

It was a good season for me but, as the boss says, we finished third and I hope next season we finish first. I always want to score more goals and improve, that is a big objective. My aims here are to win trophies, to play games, to score goals and to enjoy my time on the pitch. As a player I want to continue working hard and enjoy playing as I have this year.

"

Reports of a stormy relationship between the Belgian and Jose Mourinho appear to have been overblown, per Matt Barlow at the Daily Mail, and Hazard committed to stay at Chelsea despite interest from Paris Saint-Germain this summer, per Matt Law at The Telegraph.

So far this season he has scored once and forced another, while putting in commanding performances against both Leicester City and Burnley.

Screengrab from FourFourTwo StatsZone app.

Hazard cut a frustrated figure throughout the 2013-14 season as he often found himself marked out of games.

Having finished up as Chelsea’s top scorer with 17 goals in all competitions, it was clear that he presented their best—and often only—attacking option. This led to comments after the Champions League semifinal against Atletico Madrid when Hazard claimed, per Jeremy Wilson at The Telegraph: “Often, I'm asked to do it all by myself and it's not easy.”

That burden has been alleviated by the arrivals of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa.

The addition of a midfielder who shares the same sort of passing vision as Hazard has allowed him to work on his positioning off the ball. That increased freedom has allowed him to complete 16 dribbles so far, more than double the total of any of his team-mates.

Having a striker who can be relied upon to finish the chances he creates has given Hazard more options than he had available last season.

He has taken the No. 10 shirt for the 2014-15 season but is likely to continue his role on the left of the attacking midfield.  The best of his work is done when he cuts in from the flank to play the final pass to a team-mate, and there is enough flexibility in the team structure for him to do this.

Hazard himself is happy with Costa, having told the official Chelsea website (via Goal.com):

"

Last season I scored a lot of goals and maybe this season I can make a lot more passes forward because Costa is one of the best and he can score. It's my job to score but it's also my job to make assists as well. I can now concentrate on assists. I'm ready to be better than last season.

"

This shift in his focus will allow Chelsea supporters to see the best from the Belgian.

In his final season in France, Hazard started all but three games for Lille. Per ESPN, he scored 20 goals and set up a further 16 in Ligue 1. However, this was the first season that he had been so prolific, and also the first occasion that he had scored more goals than he created.

He will be well aware of the increased competition that comes with having such quality in the squad, but if he keeps his head down and carries on working hard, this could turn out to be the best season of Hazard’s career.

Statistics from WhoScored.com unless otherwise noted.