Ander Herrera has recalled the “funny” occasion when he muted Eden Hazard while grabbing a goal and an assist himself to help Manchester United beat Chelsea 2-0 to claim the Man of the Match award in April 2017.
The Blues went on to win the title in that 2016/17 season as the Reds finished sixth but that didn’t stop the hosts and Herrera getting one over the eventual champions. At the time, Hazard was rated as the best attacker in the Premier League and went on to win his club’s player of the season accolade.
Herrera - who played 198 times for United across five years, winning the Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup - was chosen by then-boss Jose Mourinho to man-mark the Chelsea winger that day.
READ MORE: Ander Herrera addresses infamous Man City spit incident
Herrera, now on loan at Athletic Bilbao from Paris Saint-Germain, recently reflected on the day with United club media. He described his emotions after teeing up Marcus Rashford’s opener and scoring one of the 20 goals he netted for United.
“At that time, Hazard was the best player in the league, with the best stats and everything,” the 33-year-old said. “Chelsea were on fire, and Mourinho decided that I was the man to stop him.
“Two days before [the match], I said: ‘I’m going to try my best. Even if he goes to the toilet, I will follow him.’ It was funny because I had a defensive role at that time, and I gave an assist, and I scored a goal.
“And Hazard didn’t do too much at that time, so it was funny. I am a team player. I am ready to help the team and, at that time, Mourinho asked me to do that and I did it and, if tomorrow, I have to do it here in Bilbao, I will do it again.
“I want to finish my career with the feeling that I have done everything that I have done in my hands to help my team, my coach and my teammates.”
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