Eden Hazard heat maps prove he is being wasted in false nine role for Chelsea by stubborn Sarri

The Belgian, played in the false nine role, was in no man's land as the Blues were shut out at the Emirates and Maurizio Sarri's side registered just one shot on target.


Hazard had 72 touches the whole game with two shots and 40 passes.

But compared to his most productive game of the season — a 4-1 win over Cardiff in September — the stats and heat maps show how his effectiveness has dried up.

That win four months ago put Chelsea top of the Premier League with five wins out of five and Hazard had 97 touches with 74 passes, four shots for THREE goals.

But the heat maps show how he has been isolated, even in his favoured area of the left channel.



Chelsea were poor against Arsenal and Sarri clearly got his shape and system wrong.

The Blues' effectiveness in the final third was choked by the Gunners' fired-up centre-back pairing of Sokratis and a resurgent Laurent Koscielny.

But the defenders' lives were made easy as players rarely got beyond Hazard and into the box meaning he was getting on the ball with so few options at his disposal.

Sarri, keen to point the finger at his players, refused to blame his failing system for Chelsea's poor outing.

The fuming Italian said: "I have to say that I'm extremely angry, very angry indeed.

"This defeat was due to our mentality more than anything else, our mental approach.

"We played against a team more determined than we were. And I can't accept that.

"Tactics don't come into it. Their high level of motivation was throughout, particularly in both penalty areas.

"I'd prefer to come in here to talk about the tactics, about why we lost from a tactical point of view, but the fact is it appears this group of players is extremely difficult to motivate."

Source: Read Full Article