EDEN HAZARD may be having a good season for Chelsea, but the team cannot always rely on him because “he’s not Lionel Messi".
That’s the opinion of former Blues midfielder Craig Burley.
Chelsea was held to a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge yesterday as Burnley threw a major spanner in the works of the top four race.
The Blues are desperate to secure Champions League football for next season and are in a tight battle with Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal for the remaining two spots in the Premier League.
Currently, Liverpool and Manchester City are the only two teams confirmed for top four finishes, with the rest of the pack closely fighting it out to join them in the competition next year.
Chelsea - fourth - are level on points with third-placed Tottenham, who have a game in hand.
Behind them, Arsenal is in fifth on 66 points, whilst United are struggling from poor form recently and are on 64 points.
With all three other teams having lost this weekend, facing Burnley at home was the perfect opportunity for Maurizio Sarri’s side to get back into the top four, but they squandered the chance despite coming from behind to lead 2-1.
And Burley explained that Chelsea cannot afford to continuously rely on Hazard to get them out of trouble as the run-in continues.
“Others have to take charge, take responsibility.
“Too often they think ‘he’ll dig us out of the hole, he’ll get us a result’, but today proved that isn’t always going to be the case.”
Hazard struggled on Monday night after Callum Hudson-Odoi suffered a heartbreaking ruptured Achilles injury, which will keep him out until next season.
In the youngster's absence, Hazard was expected to be the driving force behind Chelsea's attacks but Sarri's side struggled to find a way through a stubborn Burnley.
The Londoners' next game sees them face Man United on Sunday (4.30pm).
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