Hazard played a false 9 last Saturday against Man City like he had at Etihad in March
Rudiger insists back then it was all about long balls to the Belgian
Now he praises Sarri’s decision to use Conte’s trick but in a modified way
Eden Hazard set both goals up for his teammates when Chelsea defeated Manchester City at home last week playing from the false 9 role.
Interestingly enough, the Belgian played the same part when the Blues meekly slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Etihad in March with Antonio Conte still in charge.
Back then, Hazard was openly dissatisfied with his position but as Antonio Rudiger reveals, now they players absorb everything Maurizio Sarri says.
”The coach has given everyone the chance this season to prove themselves,” Rudiger told Evening Standard.
He then compared Hazard playing alone up front in the last week’s win to the last March’s defeat.
He said: ”Everyone has to accept this decision and perhaps it was a good [choice]. It wasn’t like last season, when we tried to pump long balls to Eden. No, we tried to keep it on the ground. But when the ball did go up in the air, Eden showed that he can keep the ball.