Our reliance on Eden Hazard is no secret, and to say that the success of this team under Antonio Conte could be largely decided by his form is no exaggeration.
The level of our dependence on our talismanic winger was exposed for the whole world to see in the disasters of last season, and it made for frightening viewing.
Our biggest creative source, our most genuine attacking threat from midfield, and arguably the only player in our squad who can take control of a game and turn it in our favour – absent for nine months.
The 2016/17 season may prove to be pivotal in our pursuit of our rivals. Domestically and on a European level, we are a few years of hard work behind them. There is no more room for failure, we have to break free of the losing culture that developed last season and the mid-table mediocrity that ensued.
No longer can players shy away from responsibility, the spotlight is on them and they need to perform. Hazard is one of those who could be accused of being feckless last season, and much more was expected of him after he was inundated with individual awards just months before.
It’s time for Hazard, one of the most naturally talented players ever to play for the club, to step to the fore.
He began life under Antonio Conte in red-hot form, but that blaze has fast given way to half-hearted crackling. He is yet to find his emphatic rhythm that drew him comparisons to the very best in the world – but how far away is he from full flow? Let’s take a look at the stats.
Creativity
Hazard is not only our biggest creative outlet, but one of the most creative in the Premier League when on song. Last season glimpses of that ingenuity were few and far between and although there have been signs of improvement this term, it still doesn’t measure up to his best form.
In the 2014/15 season Hazard created 99 chances in 3373 minutes, that’s a chance created every 34.1 minutes, and 2.64 chances created per 90 minutes. So far this season he has created 12 chances in 584 minutes, a chance created every 48.6 minutes, and 1.85 chances created per 90 minutes.
The same season he played 90 key passes in those 3373 minutes, a key pass played every 37 minutes, and 2.4 key passes played per 90 minutes. In the 2016/17 Premier League campaign so far, he has played 12 key passes in 584 minutes, a key pass played every 48.6 minutes, and 1.85 key passes played per 90 minutes.
https://twitter.com/mixedknuts/status/774957365640691713
Hazard’s current rate of a chance created or key pass played every 24.3 minutes may not measure up to his 2014/15 rate of every 17.8 minutes, but it is still very good. To put it into perspective, last season’s player of the year Riyad Mahrez created a chance or played a key pass every 24.6 minutes.
The quality of the chance created is not depicted by these stats so it’s difficult to draw concrete conclusions, but we can at least make assumptions. Hazard is not a million miles away from his creative exploits of our title-winning campaign – but he’s not there yet.
Goal-scoring
Consistently scoring goals is an aspect of Hazard’s game that he has struggled with since arriving in England, he himself has acknowledged it. The 2014/15 campaign was Hazard’s highest scoring Premier League campaign, but he looks some way off replicating that goal-scoring form.
In the 2014/15 season Hazard scored 14 goals in 3373 minutes, a goal every 240.9 minutes. Three of those were penalties, so he scored a non-penalty goal every 306.6 minutes. So far this season he has scored 2 goals in 584 minutes, a goal every 292 minutes. One of those was a penalty, so he has averaged a goal every 584 minutes.
The same season he had 78 shots, scoring 14 goals, a goal every 5.6 efforts he took at goal. This campaign he has had 19 shots, scoring 2 goals, a goal every 9.5 efforts at goal.
Not only has Hazard been less prolific this season, he has been less efficient in front of goal, despite his shot accuracy this season so far (60%) edging his 2014/15 figure (59%). In fact, it has taken him almost double the amount of strikes at goal to score this Premier League season so far.
On-the-ball
Is there a better player on the ball in the Premier League than Eden Hazard? Probably not. In terms of dribbling and beating a man, Hazard is and always has been in the top 1%. There are no signs that there’s going to be any change there this season either.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxqR_iMI4IA
A take-on, by definition, is an attempted dribble past an opponent. In the 2014/15 season Hazard successfully completed 180 take-ons in 3373 minutes, a take-on completed every 18.7 minutes. This season so far he has completed 30 take-ons in 584 minutes, a take-on completed every 19.4 minutes.
Despite not completing a take-on as frequently this season, he has completed 69.77% of his attempted take-ons this season, compared with 64.29% in the 2014/15 campaign.
Conclusion
There are clear signs of improvement from Hazard on last season, but he has so far been unable to reproduce his highest performance level. The excuses are running out, he is 25-years-old and if he has genuine intentions of becoming one of the best players in the world – now is the time. For Chelsea’s sake and his own, I hope he goes up through the gears in the next weeks and months.
