Maurizio Sarri has revealed how Eden Hazard reacted to being left out of Thursday night’s Europa League semi-final first-leg.
Sarri has often used the competition as an opportunity to give Hazard a rest, with much of the opposition we’ve faced not being worthy of facing a player of his quality.
We wondered if the Italian would have a change of heart on Thursday, instead opting to field Hazard to ensure that Chelsea get the job done. He didn’t.
Hazard started among the substitutes, before being called on in an attempt to swing the game in Chelsea’s favour.
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By the sound of things, he wasn’t too bothered to be missing out.
Sarri revealed after the game that Hazard’s reaction to his omission was ‘normal’. He’s quoted by the Daily Mail saying:
“He was in the dressing room joking as usual, as normal. But he knows the truth very well. He knows very well that sometimes he has to rest.”
“For a player that has to play 70 matches in a season, it’s normal. A normal reaction.”
Hazard is a true professional, with his reaction to being left out of a crucial fixture of this kind being testament to that.
The job is far from done, so we wonder if he’ll start back at the Bridge…
