Eden Hazard Impresses Chelsea Manager, Di Matteo

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Eden Hazard’s Chelsea debut outstanding, says Di Matteo

Roberto Di Matteo was thrilled by the influence new signing Eden Hazard had on Chelsea in their 2-0 win at Wigan.

The Belgian midfielder set up Branislav Ivanovic’s opening goal with a sharp turn and pass and was felled for a penalty which Frank Lampard converted.

“Hazard was outstanding,” said Di Matteo. “He showed all his qualities and it was a pleasure to watch him. He was a big threat and difficult to mark.

“He combined well with his team-mates, exactly what we were looking for.”

Chelsea signed 21-year-old Hazard from French side Lille for a reported £32m in June and he made an immediate impact in his first Premier League game.

Di Matteo continued: “He’s got great technical ability. He’s got a burst of pace as well, he can play with his back to goal and he’s got a lot that he can bring to our team.”
After racing into the 2-0 lead with just six minutes played, Chelsea failed to register another shot on target in the first half, but Di Matteo felt they did enough to win the game.

“It was perfect that we scored twice early on – it settled a lot of nerves,” he said.

“I’m very pleased with the performance and the result. It’s always tricky the first game of the season, like you saw from the results on Saturday.

“We nearly scored the third goal, which probably would have killed off the game completely, but I thought we were always quite comfortable.”

Martinez was frustrated by Wigan’s start but pleased by his side’s reaction to going two goals behind.

“We started really softly,” he conceded. “We had a lack of intensity and if you do that in this league you will get punished.

“But with the manner in which we reacted, I couldn’t be happier. It was a big test, not just in the technical ability of our team but in terms of our character.

“It couldn’t have been a harder test for all our boys. It would have been all too easy to feel sorry for ourselves and accept defeat but I don’t think we did that.”

Wigan bossed long periods of the game with Victor Moses and Arouna Kone forcing saves from Chelsea keeper Petr Cech, while Jordi Gomez went close with a header and a volley.

“We had a few chances and it was a matter of getting that goal,” Martinez continued. “I thought Chelsea were happy to defend well and run the clock down, and I took that as a real compliment to the side.

“Before the game I wanted the team to perform in the manner we did last season and I think we achieved that.”

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