Eden Hazard’s brilliant double secured Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over West Ham on Monday evening.
Maurizio Sarri’s side were dominant throughout the match, but it needed a world-class display and a sublime solo goal from Hazard to make the difference.
Picking up the ball midway in West Ham’s half, Hazard superbly slalomed past four players before evading a last-ditch sliding challenge to fire low past Lukasz Fabianski.
Hazard, who was sublime throughout the contest and a constant menace to West Ham’s defence, was denied a clear penalty before half-time after he was barged over by Marko Arnautovic. But the Belgian’s goal was his 84th in the Premier League to put him level with the tally Cristiano Ronaldo ended up on during his time at Manchester United
And Hazard overtook Ronaldo’s record and capped his fine performance with a late goal to secure Chelsea’s 2-0 win.
Sarri continued to place his faith in Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi as both started the match at Stamford Bridge.
But Sarri’s decision to substitute Loftus-Cheek for Ross Barkley with 20 minutes remaining was met with boos and jeers by Chelsea’s supporters. The victory over the Hammers fires Chelsea up to third in the Premier League, although Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United have all played one game less.
