Eden Hazard’s brilliance brings Aristotelian surprise to life to propel Chelsea

Chelsea’s opponents have worked out the Blues’ tactics. The only x factor is Eden Hazard’s brilliance and ability to pull off the unexpected.

The human existence is one of making meaning. We crave and create narrative. One of the earliest examinations of that process is Aristotle’s Poetics. In it, Aristotle discussed the elements necessary to make a satisfying drama.

One such element is surprise. It cannot be any random shock, however. It must be tied to previous events and seen as an almost inevitable conclusion to the narrative.

There is no better player in the Premier League at surprising the audience (and opposition) than Eden Hazard. His ability to perform the unexpected is a crucial element to Chelsea’s strategy.

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Antonio Conte devotes much of his training sessions to turning open play into equations. As a result, the Blues’ attack has become formulaic, and other teams have worked it out. Hazard’s trickery is the only x factor opponents cannot solve.

Manchester United attempted to blunt his brilliance last spring in the FA Cup by adopting a “hack-a-Hazard” stratagem. It backfired spectacularly after a flurry of bookings and Ander Herrera’s sending off. In form, it resembled a story Aristotle recounted of the murdered Mitys of Argos. The people of Argos were unable to apprehend the murderer. In their grief, they erected a statue of Mitys in the city center, and the killer returned to admire it. As he moved in for a closer look, the statue fell off of its plinth and killed him.

Saturday against Bournemouth was another example of a team falling victim to Chelsea’s number 10. The Cherries’ only response to Hazard was to foul him. Is anyone trickier at receiving the ball with his back to goal?

Adam Smith’s booking was an illustration of Hazard’s talent. As he went to tackle the little Belgian, Smith could not decide which feint to go for. In the end, he chose to simply go straight through the back of Hazard and received a yellow card for his poor decision. It was a surprisingly poor tackle but also an inevitable conclusion to the episode.

Hazard’s first goal of the season was a similar story of shock and awe. Seizing upon a Bournemouth mistake, he rifled in a shot from the corner of the six yard box. Ordinarily, you would not expect a goalkeeper to be beaten from that angle at his near post. However, Hazard put the ball past Begovic using the element of surprise. There are not many players that have both the audacity to take that shot and the skill to pull it off. Fortunately for Chelsea, Hazard has both of those attributes in abundance.

After the shambolic display in Rome on Tuesday, Chelsea goes into this weekend on a low note. If the Blue are to take any points from Sunday’s match against Manchester United, Hazard must be at his brilliant, unpredictable best.

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If he is not, well, perhaps it is time to start erecting statues of him and inviting United around for a closer look.