Are Antonio Conte's negative tactics helping Real Madrid land Hazard?
According to the Times, the Belgian is being pushed away from the club by Antonio Conte, whose tactics are believed to be too negative, into the hands of known suitors Real Madrid, who also want team-mate Thibaut Courtois.
The Blues went into a key away trip to Manchester City with some rather defensive tactics, which turned out to be unsuccessful, the Sky Blues coming away with a 1-0 victory, leaving the Pensioners a whole five points short of Tottenham in the race for fourth.
The Premier League holders are doing their best to keep the Belgian, but talks have stalled over a new deal. According to the Times, moreover, “Eden Hazard will consider his future at Chelsea in the summer after becoming annoyed by Antonio Conte’s tactics.”
The Diable Rouge seemed to confirm this when asked about Conte’s decisions by Het Leetste Nieuws:
“When you leave the pitch you have the impression that you’ve ran [a lot], but that you haven’t played a game of football. That’s a pity.
“We could have played on for three hours, and I [still] wouldn’t touch a ball.
“It went a bit better only at the end: in the last 10-15 minutes we had more possession. But we should have tried to do that all game.”