Must Watch: See What Happens When Hazard And Willian Go Head To Head In Extremely Difficult Challenge
Nov 24, 2016 at 2:45 PM
Chelsea are just three wins short of matching their total number of Premier League victories last season.
Antonio Conte has done an impressive job of reviving a team that became disillusioned under Jose Mourinho and stumbled to 10th place.
The Italian has got his players to buy into his 3-4-3 system and the fact that David Luiz is playing like an elite centre-back just proves Chelsea’s progress.
This time last year, the Blues were in disarray. They had just managed their fourth league win of the season, a narrow 1-0 win over Norwich City, who would end up being relegated, and it turned out to be Mourinho’s final domestic win – a draw and two defeats followed, and the Portuguese was sacked in mid-December.
Nobody embodies Chelsea’s rise better than Eden Hazard.
There were claims that the Belgian gave up under Mourinho. Fans called him a rat and Hazard’s form this season adds weight to the argument that he didn’t give his all for his former manager.
With seven goals this season, the 25-year-old is finding the sort of form that saw him linked with a move to Real Madrid two seasons ago.
For Chelsea’s sake, it’s vitally important that they keep him happy. He figures to play a crucial role in their bid to regain the title.
Fortunately for Conte, a smile has been etched on Hazard’s face all season and it was there again on Wednesday when he competed in a three versus three competition with his Chelsea teammates.
As part of Nike’s Strike Series, Hazard, Willian, David Luiz, Thibaut Courtois and Nathaniel Chalobah, all of whom are associated with the American sportswear company, took part in pretty interesting training game.
Split into teams – Hazard, Courtois and Chalobah formed one trio, the rest made up the other – the players had to keep the ball up while descending the number of touches they took from three to one.
The last player on each team with one touch remaining had to strike the ball towards the goal, with the quickest team to complete the challenge being the winner.
Check it out below.