Chelsea: Eden Hazard starred for Belgium without playing the starring role

Eden Hazard led Belgium in their comeback victory, without having to do everything himself. This is the ideal set up for Chelsea’s No. 10, one club and country should strive to create for him.

Belgium gave Eden Hazard the performance Portugal failed to give Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina failed to give Lionel Messi. The Red Devils needed Hazard to come back from 2-0 down, but they did not rely on him. Hazard was the most important player on the team, but he was just one player of 13 who contributed to the win. On the top-line scoresheet, Hazard only had an assist to show for his night.

Only. Hazard was the dominant player throughout the 90 minutes, particularly in the second half. For much of the first half, Belgium had the opposite problem as Chelsea. The Red Devils tried to push too much through their target man, Romelu Lukaku. Hazard was in a supporting role in the first half as his teammates looked to play the ball into Lukaku. Only a few times did the Red Devils send the ball out to Hazard to build the play in from the left. But Japan’s dominance on the flanks combined with Belgium’s narrow, central play created few moments for Hazard.

Belgium opened up the pitch more in the second half. After going down 2-0, they responded by matching their speed against Japan’s, and their guile against Japan’s endurance. This created the ideal space and tempo for Hazard and the rest of the team.

At no point did any of Belgium’s players recede into the game to thrust Hazard into the starring role. They gave Hazard the ball and the room he needed as a matter of tactic, not necessity. They stayed available and alert for outlet passes, support and options, rather than waiting for him to level the score.

Belgium integrated him into the play to an extent appropriate to a player of his talent. He had 84 touches: third-most on the team, behind only the centre-backs who played the ball out from the back and were the usual recycling options. His teammates did not force him into the play unnaturally. Whereas Portugal’s game-plan revolved around getting the ball to Cristiano Ronaldo, and Argentina had few options other than giving Lionel Messi the ball and shoving him forward, Belgium treated Hazard as the first among equals. If getting him the ball and backing off was the right thing to do, they did it. Otherwise, they did not.

This alleviated the pressure on Hazard so he could focus on creating and leading. It also forced Japan to spread their defensive resources across the entire pitch. Whereas Argentina’s opponents could assign up to four defenders to Lionel Messi, Japan could never count out the contributions of any of the 10 players around Eden Hazard.

As a result, Belgium won on goals by a centre-back and two substitutions. Hazard assisted on Marouane Fellaini’s equalizer via a precision cross into the box. He was also second on the team with three shots (including one off the post), five dribbles, five key passes and absorbed five fouls.

Belgium showed the rest of the World Cup how to play with a player like Eden Hazard. They also showed Chelsea. A regular criticism of Eden Hazard – and a frequent point of contrast between him, Ronaldo and Messi – is his tendency to drift out of big games at Chelsea. At times, he can take complete control of a game and shape the outcome single-handedly. Other times, he is barely noticeable. Belgium struck the right balance in their tactics and expectations. They knew what he could do, they knew what he would do and they let him do it in the natural flow of team play.

Chelsea need only a few more players to offer Hazard the level of support he has at Belgium. If they build a strong enough XI they will not depend on him for absolutely everything going forward. With other players around to play their roles, they will avoid the circumstances that can lead to him going missing, and the subsequent criticisms after a loss.

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If Roberto Martinez – a manager who currently owes his World Cup survival to Marouane Fellaini and Nacer Chadli – can figure this out, surely Chelsea can as well.