'Lille knew Hazard was the real deal after his hat-trick... while drunk!'

Rio Mavuba, the Chelsea star's former captain in Ligue 1, reveals that his famous treble against Nancy in 2012 had been scored despite him not having slept a wink after a night out

Chelsea star Eden Hazard was still drunk when he netted his famous hat-trick during his last game for Lille, according to his former captain, Rio Mavuba.

Hazard starred in his former side's 4-1 demolition of Nancy in May 2012, netting a hat-trick in the first half-hour of the game at the Stade Metropole.

And Mavuba has revealed that the Belgian had gone out for drinks the night before in the knowledge that it would be his final game for Lille, with a move to Chelsea already arranged for the summer.

The midfielder added that Hazard had not slept a wink prior to the game, with his match-winning performance confirmation to the rest of the Lille squad that the then-21-year-old was destined for greatness.

"We were certain to finish third and we were facing Nancy the following day," Mavuba told reporters. "It was Hazard’s last match with Lille and he wanted to organise a little something.

"We decided to go have a little drink. A little drink that dragged on somewhat. The following morning, Eden was still drunk.

"That evening against Nancy, not even with 30 minutes played, Eden had already bagged a hat-trick.

"The guy had not even slept, he drank for the entire night and he put away a hat-trick in 30 minutes.

"We all looked at each other [and] we told ourselves that this guy was the real deal."

Hazard has since gone on to win the Premier League with Chelsea and be crowned the PFA Player of the Year.

The forward has put aside his troubles from last season to help fire Antonio Conte's Blues to the top of the table this term, contributing nine goals.