Chelsea tactics: 5 ways the Blues will cope without Morata

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Eden Hazard of Chelsea and John Stones of Manchester City battle for possession during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Manchester City. (Photo by Clive Rose for Getty Images) /

Hazard’s Return

The game against Manchester City last week was the first time that Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata had started a league game together. The Belgian wizard had begun the season recovering from injury and didn’t have a preseason. Antonio Conte has eased him back into the first team. The strong performances of the side have allowed them to take their time with him.

Of course Chelsea fans want to see Hazard and Morata together but the timing of the Belgian’s return is crucial with the Morata injury. They played up front together in a 3-5-2 formation against City and the plan is clearly to have Hazard in a forward/striker role. Especially with the successful integration of Tiemoue Bakayoko to the Chelsea lineup.

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Eden Hazard is pretty good at football. Clearly he is better as a number 10 than as a line-leading number 9. Yet I would not be too worried about his ability to play as a striker. He is quick, strong and full of skill. He also knows how to find the back of the net.

The issue will not be ‘can Hazard play as a striker?’ it will be ‘will there be enough creativity with him up front?’. As when Hazard has been missing I think you can expect to see Cesc Fabregas play further forward and fill the number 10 role that Hazard will vacate by playing as a striker.

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