In an unusually early encounter, Chelsea travel to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday to take on Manchester City. Ahead of this big encounter, City skipper Vincent Kompany has joked that in an interview with Belgium newspaper Het Nieuwsblad he wishes Eden Hazard “has diarrhoea”.
City can take a five-point lead over the Blues if they get over Jose Mourinho side this weekend. Manuel Pellegrini would be happy with the start having seen a comfortable 3-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion in the first match. Chelsea started its own season with a 2-2 draw against Swansea City.
Kompany is aware that his Belgium team-mate Hazard can be a big thorn for them in this match. The Blues’ forward was voted both the PFA and the Football Writers’ player of the year last season. Though he didn’t have a good game against Swansea, Hazard still is the biggest threat for City.
Kompany knows that if his team doesn’t stop the little magician, he may run away with the match for Chelsea.
Now let’s be serious, you can’t underestimate the impact he has on Chelsea. You’ll expect he would have a dip in his performance level.
Last week, against Swansea, he maybe didn’t play his best first half, but when they were reduced to 10 men, he was the only one who was dangerous. Because he ran past three-four defenders.
You can have a many tactical plans as you want, if Eden start running, it is chaos. He’s at a level where he decides how good his team are.
The Blues come with a handicap to the match with their regular goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois suspended for the trip. Mourinho will also be worried about the fitness of Diego Costa and the form of Cesc Fabregas. These two along with Hazard are the real threats for City.
Kompany believes that the start is ideal for them this season and would love to see his side challenge for the title. An early season victory against fellow contenders Chelsea will give them a head-start. And the City captain knows who his main threat will be.
