LONDON (AFP) - Eden Hazard's magnificent double earned Chelsea a 2-0 win over West Ham on Monday (April 8) and moved Maurizio Sarri's men up to third in the Premier League.
Reports continue to link Hazard with a summer move to Real Madrid with the Belgian refusing to extend his contract at Stamford Bridge beyond 2020.
And he underlined once more how much Chelsea will miss their number 10 should he depart for the Spanish capital with a dazzling display, capped by a sensational solo goal to open the scoring.
Hazard collected the ball just inside the West Ham half, but strode forward jinking past three defenders before coolly slotting past Lukasz Fabianski after 24 minutes.
The hosts and Hazard had to wait until stoppage time to secure the three points as this time he controlled inside the box and fired into the far corner for his 19th goal of the season.
Victory moves Chelsea two points clear of Tottenham and three ahead of fifth-placed Arsenal in the race for a top-four finish, but both their London rivals and Manchester United - five points back in sixth - now have a game in hand on Sarri's men.
In contrast to Hazard's form, Gonzalo Higuain has managed just three goals since joining Chelsea on loan in January, all against already relegated opposition in Huddersfield and Fulham.
The Argentine stated his desire before kick-off to make his move permanent should Chelsea successfully appeal a one-year transfer ban imposed by FIFA, but he had another night to forget in front of goal.
Shortly after opening the scoring, a wonderful looping Hazard pass picked out Higuain inside the area but a combination of Fabianski and the post denied him a much-needed goal from a narrow angle.
Marko Arnautovic was then fortunate to avoid conceding a penalty for barging into Hazard, but that seemed the Hammers' only way of stopping the Belgian captain.
Hudson-Odoi startsÂ
Callum Hudson-Odoi was handed just his second Premier League start and the teenage England international was only denied his first top-flight goal by a flying save from Fabianski to tip his rising drive over.
Higuain's lack of confidence was in evidence as he passed up the chance to head home N'Golo Kante's cross and instead saw his shot deflected behind after taking a touch to control on his chest.
Hazard on the other hand was demanding the ball at every opportunity and was first to threaten again after the break with a shot that flashed across the West Ham goal.
However, having failed to muster a single attack of note before the break, the visitors sparked into life in the second half and could have made Chelsea pay for their failure to kill the game off.
Arnautovic's clever cut-back picked out the unmarked Manuel Lanzini at the edge of the box, but his shot was too close to Kepa Arrizabalaga before Aaron Cresswell then arrowed a shot inches wide of the far post.
The majority of the chances continued to come at the other end, though, as Ruben Loftus-Cheek lifted his effort into the grateful arms of Fabianski with just the Polish goalkeeper to beat.
Ross Barkley then just failed to reach a dangerous Hudson-Odoi cross and Fabianski denied substitute Olivier Giroud as Sarri grew increasingly frustrated on the sidelines.
The Italian was finally able to relax in stoppage time when Hazard was given acres of space to control Barkley's pass and produced the finish to match his performance.
Our editor discovers the joys and sorrows of a vow of silence. it's as if you died and the world continued on. This article originally appeared in the December 2017 issue of SUCCESS
PDF Og Mandino's Ten Vows of Success - CAS
Hougang United Football Club, one of nine clubs in the professional football league, has filed a police report against an employee after losing S$278,200 from its coffers. ADVERTISING A female administrative staff member, Tean Tai Tee, allegedly misappropriated the sales revenue from the clubhouse between Nov 29 and Dec 11 last year.
tiagong, this female employee hoot Hong Gan United Football
Chelsea face a partial closure of Stamford Bridge However, UEFA will decide on Friday whether to open its own disciplinary case. The European football's governing body's regulations state that
The punishments Chelsea could face after UEFA charge for
London: Cardiff claim they are shocked by a report that the pilot in the plane crash that killed Emiliano Sala was not qualified to fly at night. The Premier League club said they remain "deeply concerned" that the pilot David Ibbotson and those who arranged the flight "seemingly completely disregarded the rules of flying and put Mr Sala's life in such danger".
Cardiff 'shocked' by Sala pilot report : The Standard
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba quickly deleted a controversial social media post of him smiling after manager Jose Mourinho was sacked by the club on Tuesday. Pogba deletes cryptic
'Caption this': Paul Pogba deletes cryptic post after Jose
The post Man City end Liverpool's unbeaten run, cut lead to four appeared first on The Himalayan Times. Share Next story David Warner speaks publicly for the first time in months, but doesn't say much
Man City end Liverpool's unbeaten run, cut lead to four
Football: Reds can be 'Invincibles' this season, says Unai
Lucas Moura, from PSG cast-off to Tottenham idol AFP May 8, 2019 AFP No Comments Paris (AFP) - Rejected by Paris Saint-Germain after the world-record signing of Neymar, Lucas Moura propelled Tottenham to heights the French giants could only dream of Wednesday by single-handedly firing Spurs into a first Champions League final.
Lucas Moura - from PSG cast-off to Tottenham idol - Khaleej Times
Two goals in two minutes has seen the Socceroos comfortably dispatch Palestine 3-0 at the Asian Cup. Socceroos bounce back at the Asian Cup with Palestine win | Goal.com Live Scores
Socceroos will bounce back, declares Arnold - smh.com.au
Ten-man Schalke draw blank ahead of Manchester City clash in
Liverpool Laying Groundwork For Sustained Success, Says Jurgen Klopp Updated: 18 January 2019 22:54 IST Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp does not want this season's potential title triumph to be a one-off.
Football: Liverpool laying groundwork for sustained success
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Manchester United are not scared of playing the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona at the Camp Nou after drawing the Catalans on Friday. United were originally drawn to play at Barcelona in the first leg, which would have given them the
Solskjaer insists United don't fear Camp Nou test after
I like him a lot as a player but he is nowhere near being the leader of the team after Cristiano Ronaldo left," Mijatovic told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser. Bale hobbled off during Real Madrid
La Liga: Gareth Bale 'nowhere near' being Real Madrid's
0 comments:
Post a Comment