accepted Antonio Conte's decision to start him on
the bench in their FA Cup semi-final win over
Tottenham.
Hazard and Diego Costa were surprisingly left out
of the starting XI for Chelsea's 4-2 victory at
Wembley on Saturday.
Both came on for the final half-hour, with Hazard's
75th-minute goal putting his side ahead before
Nemanja Matic wrapped up the victory in stunning
fashion.
Hazard, arguably the best player in the Premier
League this season, said he knew why Conte left
him out of the XI.
"I think it's the choice of the manager. He told me
and Diego [on Friday] because Tuesday we play
such an important game [against Southampton],"
the Belgium international said.
"We have a lot of players in the squad. Willian
played in my position and scored two goals, so
they deserved to play."
Willian twice put Chelsea ahead, but his goals were
cancelled out by Harry Kane and Dele Alli.
Hazard made a telling impact off the bench and
said he simply wanted to contribute however he
could.
"When I go on the bench, when I am on the pitch,
my thing is always the same," he said. "I'm trying
to win games, to create some chance, to score
some goals, and I did."
0 Comments