There was something novel about Eden Hazard being able to leave this arena with a smile of satisfaction plastered across his face. So much of a dismal title defence to date has had the Belgian skulking away, perplexed by his own failings as much as those of a team of recent champions. Now a slender victory over a promoted side has fuelled talk of recovery. “I hope this is the start, yes,” he offered before listing, unprompted, the next few fixtures. His eagerness to use this win as a platform was clear.
Chelsea have finally sparked their game of catch-up. Rewind a year and they had rattled up 33 points from their opening unbeaten 13 games and it will take similarly startling form if they are to haul in a distant top four, currently specks on the horizon a daunting 12 points away. Yet this team’s capabilities make that far from an outlandish proposition and, given they will rely on last year’s stellar performers to propel them up the table, that made this narrow win a source of encouragement. Key players have offered signs of promise.
Diego Costa, heckled at times when crowd and management alike grew frustrated at sluggish movement and dozy anticipation, must build on a first goal in a month with his winner slickly taken. Cesc Fàbregas, whose assist was sharply executed, has to crank up that much missed conveyor belt of chances to the forward ranks. Nemanja Matic, all leggy aggression, must keep imposing himself in the centre having appeared diminished for months. And then there was Hazard. The side’s playmaker-in-chief has rediscovered his spark in recent weeks, one anaemic display against Liverpool aside, and was back to his scuttling best, galloping upfield with the ball at his feet to leave opponents dizzied.
The Belgian operated as the team’s No10, a central role he had suggested he might attempt in talks with José Mourinho before last month’s Capital One Cup tie at Stoke City. “I’d said to him: ‘Maybe we have to try something, to change something. Maybe I have to play as a No10 because we have to try,’” said Hazard, those discussions at Cobham having taken place immediately after another damaging defeat, by West Ham. “We did and I played a very good game in the cup at Stoke. And, today, it was the same.
“I’ve heard a lot of things about me having a problem with the manager, but that is not the case. Everything is good with him. He is the best manager. He is the best manager for Chelsea, and we hope we can win a lot of trophies together. Maybe not this season because it will be difficult, but next season and beyond.”
Nervous supporters might cling to that as an indication that, as per his contract, Hazard considers his long-term future still to be at Stamford Bridge. The club consider all mentions of Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain or any other prospective suitor to be off limits.
Last season’s PFA player of the year could offer no explanation for his malaise, or that of his team. Perhaps markers have been paying closer attention to him this year, though he has been a marked man since arriving in England in 2012 and, this season at least, opponents have sensed they need not always mass behind the ball to prosper against Chelsea. There have been frailties that all-comers have sought to exploit. Hazard did put Costa’s toils down to the Spain forward not receiving “enough good passes for him to score, but he has tried everything”. Saturday finally brought reward to ensure a team who won the league with something to spare in May have leapfrogged Norwich into 15th place.
The visitors could draw heart from a rugged defensive display, bemoan the non-award of a penalty when Willian barged Robbie Brady and curse John Terry’s excellent block which denied Sébastien Bassong. Ultimately they were undone by a lapse of concentration at a free-kick and a lack of bite across their own front line. Alex Neil will look to address that in January but, before then, there is no respite with Arsenal, Everton, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur awaiting in their next five games. Theirs has been a brutal run.
“But we drew at Liverpool, lost narrowly at Manchester City and arguably should have got a point, and then had a few opportunities at Chelsea, should have had a penalty and only lost 1-0,” said Neil. “So it’s not as though we are being dominated. We are competitive in games. We have done OK, and we’ll be fine.”
Players such as Nathan Redmond and Brady, and the industry of Youssouf Mulumbu in midfield, offer Norwich hope, as do the energy and optimism of their manager. Chelsea, for their part, can take solace from Hazard’s revival. They travelled to Israel on Sunday looking to seal progress into the Champions League knockout stages in Tuesday’s against Maccabi Tel Aviv feeling more like their own selves, even if there have been false starts already this season. This cannot prove to be another.
Man of the match Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
