Jose Mourinho Doesn't Need Tom Cruise When Eden Hazard's Firing for Chelsea

STAMFORD BRIDGE, LONDON — It's a line we've heard across all five Mission: Impossible movies.

"This message will self-destruct in five seconds."

For Chelsea, it's been a case of their season self-destructing in 12 Premier League matches.

Unlucky for some, Game 13 was a little different for the reigning champions. They won for starters, defeating Norwich City 1-0 thanks to a Diego Costa goal.

It was a display much more dominant than the scoreline suggests and hinted at this team finally recovering to start climbing the table.

Jose Mourinho isn't getting carried away, though. Speaking after Saturday's victory—just the fourth time Chelsea have taken maximum points in the league this season—the manager said his players need to take things game by game.

"Fourth position for me is not an impossible mission," he explained. "If you ask me about winning the the title, I would say impossible mission."

The temptation for an Ethan Hunt-inspried quip was too much for Mourinho to resist.

"Maybe Tom Cruise can do it, but it's complicated," he joked.

A chorus of laughs echoed across the media room. It was a strange sigh of relief from manager and journalists alike; Mourinho's team was back winning convincingly, and the hacks were getting the headlines they crave from him.

The man making the headlines should be Eden Hazard. He was brilliant against Norwich, putting in his best display all season.

Playing through the middle, he showed a hunger and desire that has been missing since May from him and this team.

When he's in that sort of form, Mourinho doesn't need super agents or superheroes. Hazard embodies them all.

There are still problems Chelsea will face over the coming weeks, notably when they travel to White Hart Lane to face an in-form Tottenham Hotspur on Nov. 29.

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

If Hazard maintains this sort of form, however, things will change dramatically. Chelsea will have reason to be optimistic.

Top of that list of problems is Diego Costa and a glaring lack of belief from the striker. Too often on Saturday he was found out of position, unwilling to run the hard yards into the danger areas to finish off attacks.

There were plenty of them too. In the first half, Chelsea ravaged the Norwich defence, peppering the box with some teasing crosses only to find Costa five yards off the pace and of little use.

That continued after the interval until Mourinho had seen enough, miming to Costa from the sidelines that he needed to do to score.

The good news is he listened and within a few minutes was scoring what proved to be the winning goal.

Even more encouraging for Mourinho would have been that the instigator of the majority of those attacks on Saturday was Hazard.

Costa can't be solely blamed for his lack of goals this season. Chelsea simply haven't created enough in and around the box for him, which is partly why he's adopted the Fernando Torres strategy of roaming, looking for possession and touches.

When he watches the video of the game back, he'll see how often Hazard gifted him opportunities on a plate. He should know better next time; the service has returned.

JUSTIN TALLIS/Getty Images

Hazard's stats were impressive against Norwich. The Belgian completed eight of 10 take-ons, creating five chances in the process.

He was a thorn in the Canaries' side all afternoon.

What's not included in those stats are the feints and the dummies that brought others into play. He completed 89 per cent of his passes and what seemed liked 100 per cent of the audacious flicks that players of ilk his trade on

And as his heat map outlined, Hazard did his best work in the opposition third.

That helped to pen Norwich in their own half, giving a Chelsea a dominance we haven't seen since last season. They were winning the ball high up the pitch and playing football in the right areas.

Mourinho may have lamented a lack of goals, but he certainly didn't turn his nose up at taking his first three points since October 17.

It was over a month since Chelsea defeated Aston Villa 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in an equally comfortable game.

What happened after that, with three league defeats on the bounce—just one win in six games in all competitions—must not be repeated.

They've needed a platform from which to build, and Hazard gave Chelsea that against Norwich.

Mourinho's men aren't going to retain their Premier League title, but the season isn't all lost. They face a few more impossible missions to show they can turn things around. In Hazard, they have the man to help them do just that.

Norwich was the start. Now for the sequel.

Stats via Squawka.

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