Maurizio Sarri wants more off-ball movement from Eden Hazard

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has urged Eden Hazard and other attacking players to show more intensity on the playing field following a frustrating 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday. The Blues struggled to threaten a compact Wolves’ backline for most of the game and they eventually had to save their blushes in injury time where Hazard bagged the leveller to cancel out Raul Jimenez’s goal.

Speaking after the match, Sarri acknowledged that Hazard had a good performance on the day after bagging the vital equalising goal. However, he added that the Belgian needs to work more on the intensity and off-ball movement alongside other offensive players. Sarri said: “Hazard, as well as all the other offensive players, must learn to move the ball faster in this kind of situation. He is able to dribble past five, six or seven opponents, of course he is a great player – he can resolve the situation in every moment. When we play against a team that doesn’t want to play, we need to move the ball faster, we need more movement without the ball. We need more movements in the space otherwise it’s impossible to score.”

Hazard has not played with the same intensity from the first half of the campaign but he has nonetheless come up with crucial contributions in terms of the distribution. The late strike against Wolves was the first for the forward after seven matches but the supporters will be hoping that the game can act as the stepping stone for the Belgian to revive the form displayed during the beginning of the season.

Meanwhile, Hazard’s future with the club continues to remain a regular discussion point and the speculation has intensified despite the two-window transfer ban levied on the club by FIFA. The attacker has only 15 months remaining on his current deal with the Blues, and his prospects of joining Real Madrid have revived of late with Zinedine Zidane making the surprise managerial comeback with the European champions.