Jose Mourinho’s attention to detail is well known – but his selection of Eden Hazard as an auxiliary forward in Chelsea’s 0-0 draw with Tottenham on Sunday was clearly in defiance of all evidence.
The decision may have been forced on him by a breakdown in his relationship with Diego Costa, plus the absence of father-to-be Loic Remy and the injured Radamel Falcao.
But opting for Hazard in the ‘false nine’ role merely served to highlight the Belgian’s lack of confidence – and the stats show just what a deep trough of form he’s going through.
Fantasy football game www.oulala.com, using Opta’s facts and figures, have revealed Hazard is among the top five Premier League players that have taken the most shots this season without scoring.
He is fourth on the list, having had 19 attempts without finding the net – only Crystal Palace’s Jason Puncheon (27), Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla (23) and Watford’s Etienne Capoue are ahead of him in wastefulness.
Hazard’s primary job is, of course, as a creator – yet last season, when he was at his dazzling best, he scored 14 times as well as laying on nine goals for team-mates. In the season before that, he also contributed 14 league goals and seven assists.
And given he was most often the nearest Chelsea player to goal at White Hart Lane, another damning stat is that Hazard had just two shots – only one was on target while another, a header from a cross perfect for an out-and-out centre-forward, was put over the bar.
Costa, too, has been a shadow of his former self, but his attacking stats are better. The Spain striker does at least have three goals from his 23 shots.
Hazard, though, has now gone 17 league games without a goal, a run lasting 1,575 minutes. And even then that was a header past Crystal Palace’s Julian Speroni after the keeper had initially saved his penalty.
That was the goal that secured the title for Chelsea last season – but Hazard’s drop off in form is one of the many contributory factors to the poor defence of their crown.
This post was last modified on 02/12/2015
