Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has again leaped to the defence of star man Eden Hazard and called for referees to offer his players more protection in the wake of their 1-0 win over Manchester United in Monday’s FA Cup clash.
Jose Mourinho’s side resorted to kicking Hazard and Co. off the pitch at Stamford Bridge in a bid to unsettle Chelsea’s gameplan before Michael Oliver reduced United to 10 men for almost an hour to allow Conte’s side to run out comfortable winners.
However, it is not the first time Hazard has been forced to take the brunt of a series of strong challengers throughout his career and Conte is now looking for referees to clamp down on those sort of tactics for the safety of his players.
“It’s right for referees always to try and get the players to have respect for opponents and for football,” The Sun quote Conte as saying in the build up to their trip to Stoke, where Hazard has previously suffered some tough treatment.
“Hazard is a type of player who is difficult to stop. For this reason, sometimes they try to stop him in a bad way. But I’m not worried. Eden is very strong and has shown he is able to play in this physical league.
“He is playing great football but also has great character and personality. He is growing a lot in this respect. It’s fantastic, not only for him, but also the team. I hope one of my team can be player of the season. It would be a great satisfaction to have one of my players win this award.”
Hazard is certainly one of the frontrunners for the award after being relinquished of his defensive duties by Conte since the Chelsea boss changed formation to a 3-4-3 at the start of the campaign. However, summer signing N’Golo Kante is perhaps destined to land the award with the France international set to add another Premier League title to his collection after winning the league with Leicester last season.
Hazard has been fouled more times than any other player in the Premier League this season (75).
For more stats on Eden Hazard, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
