Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink was full of praise for Blues duo Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas for their performances in Saturday’s 4-1 win over Bournemouth in the English Premier League.
While Cesc Fabregas controlled play masterfully from midfield and picked up three assists, Eden Hazard looked in unstoppable form and scored his first Chelsea goals of the season.
Hiddink showered praise on the duo and claimed that the hard work in recent training sessions led them to gel better with their Chelsea teammates.
“We worked with Hazard for the last 10 days with the group, looking at the way he moved,” Hiddink was quoted as saying by ESPN. “He enjoyed it, he was light in his movement, so we said he’ll start this game.
“We talked about 45 minutes or a bit more, but in the end he was enjoying it so much that he could do the whole game.
“[Fàbregas] was enjoying himself very much and he’s one of the few players who have this vision. When he’s on the ball he knows that he can execute what he is thinking, and we know that when he’s on the ball we can have running players who make his play effective.”
Hiddink also believed that the game against AFC Bournemouth was one of the best games Fabregas has ever had in a Blue jersey.
“There have been other games [this season] but this was one of his best. I like it when these players get the attention but he can play like this when there’s a balance of quality around him. That’s what we coaches always have to look to do. When you have a good balance in the team they can execute what they’re good at.”
What next for Chelsea?
Chelsea are not in contention for silverware this season, meaning that the final few games are effectively dead rubbers for the Blues. However, with new manager Antonio Conte coming in the summer, the players will look to impress the Italian by putting in solid performances in the remaining matches.
Major changes are likely to be made at Stamford Bridge in the off-season and several Chelsea players could well be playing for their future at Stamford Bridge. Also, even though the Blues may not have anything at stake themselves, they will have a big part to play in the title race given that they host Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City before the end of the season.
The only real objective remaining for Chelsea this season is denying their London rivals a first Premier League trophy by beating them at Stamford Bridge next weekend.
