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Chelsea unstoppable with Costa and Hazard in good form

David Nugent in Editorial, English Premier League 7 Mar 2017

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Chelsea pair Diego Costa and Eden Hazard have been in top form this season and have helped the Blues to their current position in the table

On Monday night Premier League leaders Chelsea re-established a ten-point lead at the top of the table with a 2-1 win at West Ham.

The scorers of the Blues two goals were not much of a surprise as both Diego Costa and Eden Hazard got on the scoresheet.

The pair have been two of the key reasons for the Blues good form this season.

Antonio Conte’s side have struggled to keep clean sheets in recent games, so their attacking players’ producing is even more vital to the wannabe champions.

Bang in form once again this season

Last season Chelsea struggled to beat an egg, despite being reigning champions. Like their Blues teammates, Costa and Hazard struggled to produce their top form. The pair had been crucial to Chelsea winning the Premier League title in the previous campaign.

Costa was the top scorer for the Blues that season, while Hazard won Footballer of the Year as Chelsea won the title under Jose Mourinho, only to collapse like a house of cards last season. Hazard, in particular, came in for heavy criticism.

The criticism is understandable considered he produced just four goals and three assists in the English top-flight. Hazard is back to the form of season 2014/15, scoring 11 times and producing four assists.

The Belgian playmaker has hit form again. However, boss Conte stated after the West Ham game that he still believes that Hazard’s performances can improve and that he wants more goals from the Belgium international star.

Back to his best

Diego Costa is the sort of striker that is a nightmare for defenders to deal with. In his debut campaign, he scored 20 goals and produced three assists. Last season he scored just 12 goals, which was modest by his recent standards.

However, this season he is back to his fearsome best, having scored 17 goals and produced five assists. The Spanish international striker is a nightmare for defenders to deal with. He is big, strong and wily.

Costa looks set to beat his most prolific campaign in England for both goals and assists. The 28-year-old is also a contender to win the Golden Boot this season alongside the likes of Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane.

At times Costa treads the line when it comes to playing with an edge. Sometimes he dances all over the line without caring. The Brazilian-born star is the sort of striker that opposition players and fans hate playing against their team. However, most would love to have him on their team.

After the incident in January involving reported Chinese interest in the striker his long-term future at Stamford Bridge is in major doubt. The Blues would find it hard to find a forward that leads the line as well as Costa. He would be a major loss.

Blues in pole position for the title

I doubt many would have predicted the current situation at the top of the Premier League with the Blues so far clear of their so called rivals at this stage of the season. Conte’s side are now odds of 1/10 to win the title this season.

Chelsea’s defence may have won the Blues a lot of points earlier the campaign. However, the Blues would not have won so many points with their dynamic attacking duo. Eden Hazard and Diego Costa are two of the best attacking players in the league.

When the pair are on form, Chelsea are simply unstoppable. The Blues juggernaut looks set to continue until the end of the campaign, with no team anywhere near them in the race for the Premier League title.

Are Hazard and Costa the best attacking pair in the Premier League?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Nugent


David is a freelance football writer with nearly a decade of experience writing about the beautiful game. The experienced writer has written for over a dozen websites and also an international soccer magazine offline.
Arguably his best work has come as an editorial writer for Soccernews, sharing his good, bad and ugly opinions on the world’s favourite sport. During David’s writing career he has written editorials, betting previews, match previews, banter, news and opinion pieces.

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