Mousa Dembele Responds to Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas Before Chelsea vs. Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Mousa Dembele has hit back at Chelsea stars Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas, both of whom recently stated they hope Leicester City—not Spurs—win the Premier League.

Anything other than a win for Mauricio Pochettino’s side against the Blues at Stamford Bridge on Monday will give the pair their wish.

Dembele is an international colleague of Hazard for Belgium, and he confessed the Chelsea man's comments were out of character, suggesting he was suffering from jealousy, per Paul Jiggins of the Sun:

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I am surprised at what Eden has said.

He is not the type of person to normally make those types of comments or to envy other people’s success.

I’m wondering whether he said that stuff because it is what he really thinks, or whether he was just talking for the sake of it.

Tottenham play some of the most attractive football in the Premier League—we have a beautiful style of play.

But I won’t pay too much heed to his comments and those from Cesc Fabregas, who has said similar things.

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Clive Rose/Getty Images

Dembele has been one of the standout performers for Tottenham in 2015/16, with his solid presence in the heart of midfield giving frontman Harry Kane and Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year Dele Alli the chance to write the headlines.

In fact, Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe said he’s been up there with Leicester’s N’Golo Kante as the best midfielder in the division this term:

That much will please Belgium supporters ahead of UEFA Euro 2016 in the summer, but Dembele and Hazard may need to patch up their relationship before donning the same national shirt.

Yet while the Tottenham man said he’d be having a word with his international team-mate ahead of Monday’s clash, he won’t be making too big a deal of it:

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People come up to me in the street and say ‘Did you hear what Hazard said? What’s his problem?’

I will have a word with Eden before the game, although I will make a joke of it. I won’t conduct a half-hour interview with him.

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AFP/Getty Images

It’s set to be a rather meaty encounter at Stamford Bridge on Monday night, with Tottenham going all out to secure a victory and delay Leicester’s Premier League title party once more.

Spurs will have to defy the odds to go back to White Hart Lane with all three points, though, as sportingintelligence revealed, they haven’t beaten the west Londoners away from home in 26 years:

But Dembele said Hazard and Fabregas’ comments have given the Spurs players the motivation they needed to put an end to that unwanted record.

Tottenham fans aside, you’d be hard pressed to find many people who don’t want to see Spurs fall at Stamford Bridge on Monday, as Leicester securing the title would be a quite remarkable story.

And Dembele himself admitted the football world wants to see the Foxes cross the line, with even West Bromwich Albion keen to help them on their quest:

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Last Monday I could feel that West Brom preferred us not to win the title as well. It is bizarre.

Leicester don’t stop winning, and it is frustrating. Had we been offered second, third or even fourth place before the start of the season we’d have signed up for it with both hands.

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Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Even so, Dembele and Co. will be fully focused on the task at hand on Monday night, when a win wouldn’t just keep Spurs in the title race, but prove they have the ability to be in the hunt for the top prize in seasons to come.

UEFA Champions League football is now a certainty for Tottenham in 2016/17, and if Pochettino keeps his squad together and playing such attractive football, you’d be foolish to bet against them having a big say on the European stage.