Chelsea had no right to whinge about Manchester United getting stuck into Eden Hazard, writes Harry Redknapp

Target: Eden Hazard was fouled several times by Manchester United players
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Harry Redknapp16 March 2017

Chelsea had no right to be upset about Manchester United’s tactics against them. They have played aggressively like that themselves for years.

You only have to look at how Diego Costa has been bashing everyone about, plus Chelsea have got winners like John Terry at the back, players who want to dominate opponents.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that and it has worked for them, so I’m surprised Chelsea were upset.

They have the edge over United at the moment and Jose Mourinho came up with a ploy to negate them, particularly Eden Hazard.

I didn’t have a problem with how they approached it: they’re going to get stuck into Hazard, aren’t they? He is so difficult to mark, with the way he wriggles, twists and turns. How do you deal with him? Hazard has an amazing low centre of gravity — it’s hard not to foul him.

No one wants to see Hazard kicked out of the game but Chelsea can’t have any complaints that he was marked so tightly. I didn’t think the fouls were all deliberate. When Phil Jones, who is a big lad, tries to close in on a little guy who is so quick on the turn, it is difficult for him. Besides, teams aren’t just going to sit off and let Hazard run at them. It’s an FA Cup quarter-final, there is a lot at stake.

The Ander Herrera sending-off was ridiculous. United had just received a warning about fouling Hazard and Herrera kicks him straight away. Where are your brains?

In Pictures | Chelsea vs Manchester United | 13/03/2017

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I didn’t like to see Chelsea fans giving their former manager so much stick either, but this is the world we live in now, that’s how the game is. You go back somewhere and people give you grief. How can they give him stick after the job he did there?

I didn’t blame him for reminding them how many titles he won in two spells by flicking three fingers.

Someone who needs to start pulling his finger out is United’s record buy, Paul Pogba. He is starting to come under scrutiny from the fans and they’re right to expect more.

He has been okay so far, but if I’m spending £90million, I want to see Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi. If he’s worth £90m, that makes the £65m Barcelona paid for Luis Suarez in 2014 look very cheap. The same could be said of the £86m Real Madrid paid for Gareth Bale. What is Dele Alli worth after seeing Pogba this season? He has to be worth at least £90m!

The fans are looking at him now and thinking, “Hang on? For £90m we expect a lot more”. For that fee you’re looking for a midfielder to get you 18 goals or make loads of assists. Maybe he will be special in a season or two. He clearly has something — you don’t do what he did at Juventus, including reaching a Champions League Final – if you’re not. But he’s not impressed me so far.

After being knocked out of the FA Cup, the Europa League has taken on even more importance for Mourinho. I expect United to beat Rostov in the last 16 this evening and then to have a real chance of winning the competition.

The Europa League could be Mourinho’s best hope of getting United into the Champions League. Any of the bosses at the big clubs that miss out on the Champions League will be under pressure — and Mourinho is no different.

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