Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has suggested that attacking midfielder Eden Hazard is not a natural leader.
The Italian tactician was left frustrated after his side fell to a 2-0 defeat against Arsenal last Saturday. Unai Emery’s side went on to win the match through goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Laurent Koscielny.
By losing the game, the Blues missed the chance to move to third place in the standings. The result leaves Sarri’s side in fourth, with 47 points from 23 games.
They are just three points above fifth-placed Arsenal and sixth-placed Manchester United, who have won their past several games in all competitions since Ole Gunnar Solksjaer was appointed as manager following the sacking of Jose Mourinho.
At this stage, the West London club are clearly out of the title race as they are 13 points adrift of Liverpool.
After his side lost against the Gunners, Sarri was left a dejected manager. When asked about whether Hazard is a leader, the 59-year-old Hazard said as quoted by Goal: “He’s more of an individual player than a leader.
“He’s very important for us, of course, because he’s a great player. He can win a match in two minutes, sometimes one minute. He is one of the best in the world, but at this moment he is not a leader.”
