Analysing the Importance of Willian to Jose Mourinho's Chelsea

Eden Hazard is the benchmark at Chelsea.

Any players with desires to make themselves indispensable to Jose Mourinho need to hit the sort of levels the Belgian did last season.

He won multiple Player of the Year awards because he was the difference when Chelsea needed him to be.

In a struggling Chelsea team, Willian is proving to be that man this season.

The Brazilian's stats aren't as impressive as Hazard's from 2014/15, but even Hazard's aren't. That's the reality Chelsea find themselves as they struggle across the board.

In virtually every area, Hazard is a down on his championship-winning form.

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

As for Willian, he's proving to be the sort of player Mourinho needs right now.

We can talk about Willian's energy and work rate, yet that's the lazy approach. Depending on your perspective, it's almost derogatory.

Why? Because Willian is a player who gives Chelsea much more than a marathon man. His stamina and endeavour are assets not to be sniffed at, but they're far from the strongest aspects of his game.

This season, Willian has become a leader at Stamford Bridge. He's not done so by shouting or pointing fingers, simply by the giving performances we've seen.

In 16th place in the Premier League, Chelsea are struggling. Big time. Watch Willian, though, and you wouldn't know it.

	2014/15	2015/16
Av. chances created	1.36	1.81
Successful take-ons	67%	59%
Tackles won	35%	45%
Av. fouls suffered	1.65	2.36

He's created more chances on average than he did last term, being fouled more by opponents who have wised up to the danger he poses whenever he's in possession.

Not only that, defensively, Willian has proved more effective for Chelsea, winning more tackles on average every game than he did last season.

That's because Chelsea are having to defend more, although not all players have reacted in the same way.

Hazard's defensive stats have dropped, for instance. As have Oscar's and Cesc Fabregas'.

Where others are failing, Willian is succeeding. He's doing it in a struggling team, which is the most impressive part.

PAUL ELLIS/Getty Images

Sure, it says much for Mourinho's men that we're praising the defensive capabilities of an attacking player. In terms of what Mourinho needs right now, however, Willian is proving ideal.

It was telling that when Bleacher Report spoke with Willian after his match-winning display against Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League recently, he was more interested in what a valuable three points meant for the team rather than him.

He shied away from revelling in the glory of his beautifully executed free-kick that won the game.

"It was a win for [Mourinho] and for everyone," Willian said. "We knew we had to win, and in this game, we were in a difficult moment in the second half when they scored their goal, but we kept fighting."

The difficult moment Willian referenced was when Aleksandar Dragovic equalised for the visitors on 77 minutes. Chelsea had led for much of the game, so to concede with time running out was a serious blow to their fragile egos.

We've seen things go wrong and Chelsea collapse so often this term.

Willian saw it differently against Kiev to give his team-mates a boost, scoring the winner to get their Champions League campaign back on track.

"We fought to the end and scored the second goal," he added.

There was no "I" or "me" coming into the equation. Willian saw it about the team—that was his mandate, one he duly delivered on.

It was the sort of thing Hazard was doing when Chelsea stormed to the title last term. In the latter stages of the campaign, the Belgian was either scoring the decisive goal against Manchester United or assisting it against Queens Park Rangers.

Right now, Willian has taken over that mantle; he's become indispensable to Mourinho at a time when the manager needs him most.

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