Maurizio Sarri compares Chelsea star Eden Hazard to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

REUTERS
Tom Doyle26 December 2018

Eden Hazard is as important to Chelsea as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are to Barcelona and Juventus respectively, according to Maurizio Sarri.

Hazard passed a century of Chelsea goals with a match-winning double in the Blues' 2-1 Premier League victory at Watford.

Chelsea's talisman forward has had a direct hand in a league-high 19 goals in 18 league games this term, and his Vicarage Road brace dragged the Blues back to winning ways.

Hazard opened the scoring with his 100th Chelsea strike, showing typically impressive composure in front of goal to round Ben Foster and tap home.

The 27-year-old then buried a penalty he had won by drawing a foul from Foster to put the Blues back ahead.

The question has often been asked whether Hazard can be considered among the elite forwards of the game, but Sarri says the Belgian now has a similar standing to the likes of Messi and Ronaldo in terms of his value to Chelsea.

More to follow.

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