Cascarino: Why has nobody tried to man-mark Hazard?

Former Chelsea forward bemused as to why Premier League rivals are not doing more to try and contain the Blues' most effective creative talent

Tony Cascarino is struggling to comprehend why Chelsea’s Premier League opponents are not focusing more of their attention on containing Eden Hazard.

The Belgian playmaker, who was well below his best in 2015-16, has been in sparkling form so far this season.

Hazard has eyes on Ballon d'Or

He added another two goals to his tally in a 5-0 drubbing over Everton over the weekend, taking him to seven for the season.

Hazard also has one assist to his name in top-flight competition, with only Diego Costa able to better that return in terms of end product at Stamford Bridge.

Former Blues striker Cascarino admits he has been left bemused by a lack of man-marking jobs on the talented 25-year-old, with it too great a risk to ignore him when he is given license to roam.

He wrote : “Everybody knows that Antonio Conte is giving Eden Hazard a free role at Chelsea, so it drives me mad that opponents aren’t getting a player to stick on the Belgian and follow him everywhere.

Title rivals don't interest Conte

“Martin Keown was like a rash for Arsenal, he just used to stay with people, no matter where they went on the pitch. He was brilliant at it.

“Why is nobody trying to man-mark Hazard? Mousa Dembele at Spurs could. He’s quick and strong, and it would take that type of player to do it. No teams try it, no manager says: ‘We’ll sacrifice x to stop y.’”