Eden Hazard Sparkles for Chelsea vs. West Ham United, but Oscar Fizzles

UPTON PARK, LONDON — Eden Hazard sealed a vital three points for Chelsea against West Ham United on Wednesday evening, but for all the brilliance he displayed, his team-mate Oscar was disappointing yet again.

The Brazilian is enduring his usual winter slump, and it showed at Upton Park, where he proved ineffective in a game that Chelsea were fortunate to come away from relatively unscathed, winning 1-0.

It’s got to be a concern for Jose Mourinho as he is running out of options when it comes to rotating his attacking midfielders.

Cesc Fabregas seems to be lacking match sharpness since his return from injury and illness, and without Oscar firing, this Chelsea side is lacking a creative influence in the middle.

As expected as it was that Chelsea would come away with victory over West Ham after Hazard’s piece of improvisation—heading the ball past Adrian on 22 minutes—so too it was predictable that Chelsea’s main outlet was the Belgian.

In full flow, Chelsea’s diminutive starlet is a sight to behold. He teased the Hammers’ back line from the off here, ducking and diving, weaving in and out of space, evading tackles.

Were he a wordsmith, he’d be a John Keats or William Wordsworth—a man capable of creating beauty through simplicity.

Hazard romances his audience like no other player in the Premier League right now, and like those great literary figures, he comes with substance.

When Sam Allardyce’s players realised they weren’t going to be getting much out of him for the 90 minutes, they resorted to the same bullyboy tactics that so many other teams have attempted this season.

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Mark Noble, James Tomkins and James Collins were all guilty of hacking him down at different stages, probably in frustration. There was little complaint from Hazard, however, always picking himself up to go searching for the next opportunity.

They often arrived, and Hazard continued to drive at West Ham. At one point he started a counter-attack all by himself, beating four players in his own half before releasing Ramires, who fluffed his lines by hitting the post when through on goal.

Had that effort gone in, the game would have been over at 2-0. Had it gone in, it would have been among the best goals we have seen this season too.

Everything about that move spoke volumes for Hazard’s brilliance. It also served as a reminder that he can’t do it all himself.

Ramires put in an encouraging display against West Ham, one of his best in a Chelsea shirt for a long while. He lacked the necessary composure in front of goal, though.

Chelsea needed to kill West Ham off, and their failure to do so meant the home side were always in this game.

Oscar wasn’t, though. He failed to make any sort of impact, and his performance was in stark contrast to what we saw from Hazard.

Whereas his team-mate was full of energy and invention, Oscar was lethargic. He produced very little, and it meant Chelsea failed to build on their first-half lead.

In his first season this phenomenon was put down to him needing to adapt to the English game; last year it was the World Cup approaching.

So what now?

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Whatever it is—fatigue, character or both—Mourinho needs to find the answer and quick.

When Chelsea were breezing through games in the beginning stages of the campaign, they were able to do it because of the players they had in form.

Fabregas was the difference from deep, with Oscar’s influence giving a sense of impetus in behind Diego Costa.

It brought the best out of Hazard—only now it’s the latter who is turning up every week, while the rest have struggled.

From neat, crafty football, Mourinho’s Chelsea of old have returned. Now it’s about digging in deep to win games, suffocating the opposition and squeezing the life out of them with the unrelenting nature.

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Sure, that’s fine for now. The top of their agenda must be ensuring the points keep ticking over to keep Manchester City at bay in the title race by any means.

If Chelsea are to remain in the Champions League, they need a little more spark than we witnessed at Upton Park. Their performances of late will only take them so far in cup football, and it will be a tragedy given this team seems to be on the brink of achieving something significant.

That’s where the frustration with Oscar sets in. We know what he is a capable of achieving—he’s done it too often for him not to be discussed in the same breath as Hazard.

Yet he has failed to influence games since the turn of the year, with his performance against Swansea City in January the exception.

Chelsea got away with it against West Ham, but how much longer will they?

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes