COSTA AND HAZARD
Gary Cahill believes Diego Costa and Eden Hazard will
give Chelsea the
edge in the title race.
Both players scored as Chelsea won 2-0 at Southampton
yesterday to secure their fourth League victory in a row.
The duo have been instrumental in lifting Antonio Conte’s
side to within a point of top spot. Costa is the League’s top scorer with eight
goals in 10 matches, while Hazard has struck five times — he managed four in
the whole of the last campaign.
Asked by Standard Sport if the pair are key to Chelsea’s
chances of finishing top, defender Cahill said: “Yes. They are playing
fantastic. It is important to have big players who can change a game.
You could
see against Southampton we were trying hard to keep a clean sheet. We worked
hard on keeping the shape and were 1-0 up.
“It is very tight
when you’re just a goal up but then all of a sudden Diego turns and whips it
into the top corner. That is sometimes the difference in players at this level,
players we are blessed to have at this club. It is not just those two, though,
we have many at this club. But it’s important we have game-changers like Eden
and Diego.”
Hazard put Chelsea in front in the sixth minute but the game
was made safe only when Costa struck a superb shot past Saints goalkeeper
Fraser Forster 10 minutes after the break. The goal lifted Costa above
Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero in the League scoring charts and Hazard says
the Spanish striker’s performances are vital to Chelsea’s title hopes.
He added: “Diego is on fire and we want to keep him on fire
for the season. To reach the target we want, we need one guy to score 25-30
goals.
“I am enjoying my football. I am very happy with the
performance of the whole team. I don’t care about me, I just want the team to
win.
“I’m confident and I want to stay like this. I try to be
decisive for the team. Against Southampton I scored and had one assist. This is
what the coach wants and what my team-mates want.”
Chelsea have not conceded a League goal since changing to a
3-4-3 formation a month ago. While Conte says his side’s title hopes should not
be judged until the new year, he has warned their rivals that the best is still
to come from the Blues.
“Sometimes you can win a game but you don’t see it happening
in the right way,” he said. “Now, game by game, I’m seeing a lot of
possibilities. I have confidence because we can improve a lot.
“We are in a good position but it’s not important. It’s more
important to work very hard and trust the work will improve us.”
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