Dean Saunders has criticised Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri on talkSPORT for his decision to leave Eden Hazard out of last night’s starting eleven.
Hazard is Chelsea’s star performer and has been involved in everything good we’ve produced this season, but Sarri decided that last night’s semi-final first-leg was an appropriate time to rest him.
Chelsea have two crucial Premier League games left on the calendar, and with the amount of football Hazard has played this term, we cannot afford to burn him out in the midst of the final stretch.
That was likely the deciding factor for Sarri as he selected his starting eleven for the first-leg in Frankfurt. It makes sense, to us, but to Dean Saunders, it’s baffling.
He’s quoted by talkSPORT saying:
“It’s ridiculous. It’s like leaving Messi out! How can you leave Hazard out? It’s the semi-final of the Europa League!”
“I tell you something, Hazard will be raging. As a footballer, we know, those are the games you want to play in.”
“You can’t get left out of a semi-final, I couldn’t believe it!”
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Whilst we welcome Saunders comparing Hazard to the greatest footballer of all-time, there was absolutely nothing wrong with Sarri’s decision to leave him out.
Messi is frequently rested in La Liga games, he’s human, as is Hazard.
