Eden Hazard was absolutely magnificent as Chelsea produced one of their finest European performances away in Madrid on Wednesday night.Alvaro Morata and Michy Batshuayi scored the goals as Antonio Conte's men secured a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid.Chelsea have enjoyed a dream start on their return to elite European competition, winning both of their group games thus far.Their 26-year-old Belgian winger was unquestionably the star man at the brand new Wanda Metropolitano, with his individual highlights proving a huge hit online.Hazard recently returned from an ankle injury and is expected to make his first Premier League start when the Blues host Manchester City on Saturday evening.Legendary Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard was singing the praises of the former Lille wonderkid in the BT Sport studio.The retired Englishman came close to joining Chelsea in 2005 but believes the champions would struggle to stave off interest from the two big Spanish clubs.
Hazard has long been linked with a move to Real Madrid and Gerrard explained why performances like last night will invite them to hound Chelsea - just as Barcelona did with Philippe Coutinho this summer.“To have that confidence and that aura about him, I think when he’s in that form, he’s the best in the Premier League,” Gerrard told BT Sport.“I think it’s performances like that in this competition that if you keep producing them on a regular basis – and Frank [Lampard] won’t thank me for this nor the Chelsea fans but – the likes of the Real Madrids and the Barcelonas come knocking.“Liverpool have got a similar problem with Coutinho.“It’s performances like that that makes the real big hitters come.”
Chelsea fans disagree
Blues supporters agreed with Gerrard's comments about Hazard being the best player in the league but believe Liverpool and Chelsea are in very different positions when the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid come knocking.
Putting aside the bizarre sale of Nemanja Matic this summer, it is hard to recall the last time Chelsea sold one of their key players.