LONDON • Eden Hazard felt that his starring role in Chelsea's 2-1 win over Tottenham in the second leg of their League Cup semi-final before a 4-2 penalty shoot-out victory proved his leadership qualities.
The hosts overcame a 1-0 first-leg deficit to set up a meeting with Manchester City on Feb 24, with Maurizio Sarri's men reacting impressively after they were accused of lacking "battling and fighting qualities" in the defeat at Arsenal on Jan 20.
Hazard, who was restored to the flank, was outstanding as Chelsea surged to a 2-0 half-time lead following goals from the forward and N'Golo Kante.
Fernando Llorente pulled one back for Spurs after the break, but the Blues' clinical edge from the spot saw them book their 15th Cup final in 17 years on Thursday.
This was the first year away goals have not counted in the semi-final stage since 1980.
Sarri suggested in the build-up to the game that, while a wonderfully gifted footballer, Hazard was more of "an individual player".
The Italian later claimed reaching the first major final of his coaching career would breathe new "enthusiasm" into Chelsea's season and he had not been seeking to criticise his players.
But Belgium international Hazard was adamant that he "did not care" about his manager's assessment, insisting that "on the pitch, I'm a leader".
He said in a post-game interview: "My job on the pitch is to do what I can do. Today, I did, so I am just happy.
"(In) the meeting we had before the game, we talked about going through and playing in the final. Now, we are in the final so we are just happy."
Looking ahead to the Wembley final next month, Hazard admitted that while "it was always hard" against City as "they are the best team in the Premier League at the moment, (along) with Liverpool", the final would likely be a "50-50 game".
He added: "They win a lot of trophies in the last five or six years, but we also have a great team."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, THE GUARDIAN
The Portuguese attacking midfielder has also been linked to City's rivals Manchester United, but it is looking increasingly like the Sky Blue is winning the race for the player. The Sporting No. 8 has racked up an immense tally of 31 goals and 17 assists in 50 appearances this season, which has made him one of the hottest players in Europe.
Chelsea news recap: Offer for midfielder increased, star to
I do agree and have said so in many posts, the lack of control over the games is a major cause of our defensive problems. But even after that, individually the back line is not good enough. 1 vs 1, playing from the back, tracking runners, tackling the ball off the opp or generally dealing with technical players…etc All are glaring problems.
Starship Gunner - A free Action Game - Games at Miniclip.com
Klopp dismisses talk of Liverpool crumbling under pressure. Soccer Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Leicester City - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - January 30, 2019 Liverpool manager
Football: Klopp dismisses talk of Liverpool crumbling under
If you don't mind puppet porn, salty language and sacrilege, see Hand to God. It's the hottest play of the season. If you don't mind puppet porn, salty language and sacrilege, see Hand to God. It
Swearing Puppet - Fiverr BLOOPERS (PP-30) - YouTube
Liverpool will hope to pile the pressure on Man City by beating Southampton and returning to the top of the Premier League this evening. Live from St. Mary's, Friday Night Football returns to Sky
Liverpool beat Chelsea to return top of Premier League
The English champions released a statement bemoaning the "hostile process" undertaken by European football's governing body after former Belgian Prime Minister and current chairman and chief investigator of UEFA's club financial control body determined that there is a case to be answered regarding suspected violations of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
AC Milan at risk of European ban as Uefa launch further
London (AFP) - Aston Villa's Jack Grealish was punched by a pitch-invading Birmingham fan in a shocking incident during Sunday's Championship clash, but the midfielder had the last laugh as he scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 win over their bitter rivals.
Villa's Grealish has last laugh after Birmingham fan attack
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer enjoyed a dream start as Manchester United's interim manager as his side turned on the style to thrash his former club Cardiff City 5-1 in the Premier League on Saturday.
Solskjaer makes dream start as Man Utd thrash Cardiff
Chelsea consolidated fourth place in the Premier League with a 2-1 win at Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday that became harder work than had seemed likely in the first half. Having won 4-0 at the
Chelsea hold on against Brighton to consolidate top four spot
Euro 2020 qualifier: Republic of Ireland edging towards
Man City's Sterling treated differently by British media, says Pogba - Football News Scorenga UK (news.scorenga.co.uk) submitted 2 months ago by budlyanski.
Man City's Sterling treated differently by British media
Football: New FAS technical director Joseph Palatsides confident of rousing 'sleeping giant' Singapore SINGAPORE - The Football Association of Singapore unveiled Joe Palatsides as its new technical director at a press conference at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday (May 2).
New FAS technical director aims to awake 'sleeping giant'
0 Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen