Eden Hazard has revealed that he prefers to play as a winger rather than as a central striker following this weeks Champions League clash against Barcelona.
The Belgian was deployed as a ‘false 9’ against the La Liga leaders, despite both Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud being fit, available and on the bench.
During the game, Chelsea’s best chances came from efforts outside the box, with Willian hitting the post twice before a third long range effort finally found its way into the back of the net, leaving several pundits and Chelsea fans to criticise Antonio Conte’s decision to play without a recognised striker.
Now, speaking after the 1-1 draw, even Eden Hazard has said he doesn’t enjoying playing through the middle, and feels like he can affect the game from a wide position:
“You don’t get a lot of balls. I might have touched 25 balls that night and 15 of them were flying towards my head,” the Belgian said.
“That is not really playing to my qualities. I won some aerial duels against Gerard Pique, and that’s not bad.
“But if I had to choose, I prefer to play like I did in the last 10 minutes, which was out wide. But it’s the manager who has the final word. On the wing I feel more comfortable. That’s my place.”
