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Hazard: My dad is in trouble for Real Madrid transfer outburst!

Eden Hazard has brushed off claims made by father Thierry that he is holding off on signing a new contract to encourage an offer from Real Madrid in the summer.

The 27-year-old was in fantastic form as he provided two goals in Chelsea’s 4-0 win as they got back to winning ways in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Real Madrid are understood to be interested in signing Hazard but Chelsea are also trying to offer him a big pay-rise to remain at Stamford Bridge. Hazard joked that his father Thierry is in trouble for the interview he made in Le Soir but clarified that he will begin talks after the season has finished.

“My dad says some bad things,” Hazard told reporters after the win. “Yes. I talked with him [to tell him off], no, no worries.

“I'm focused with Chelsea. I've got two years contract left and I'm happy here. Like I said 10 times before, I want to finish this year and then we'll see. But I'm happy here.”

Chelsea showed great improvement up front with Hazard playing alongside Willian and Michy Batshuayi at the Amex Stadium.

Their exciting attacking play was a far cry from the recent struggles against Norwich, while before that the club had registered three 0-0s in a row for the first time in their history.

Chelsea are still looking to sign another striker in January and may loan Batshuayi with the likes of West Ham’s Andy Carroll and Stoke City’s Peter Crouch being linked. However, Hazard thinks that the display against Brighton shows Chelsea don’t necessarily need a big striker to win games.

“Football is simple: keep the ball on the ground and try [to play] like we did. I think we have two very good strikers in Alvaro and Michy. If they are not ready to play I can play striker, so I don't think we need [another one].

“Because we are missing chances people are saying we need another striker, but if we are scoring goals we are the best attack in the league and no one can say we need a striker. It depends on the form of the team and I think we're happy with the team we have.

Michy Batshuayi Eden Hazard Chelsea Brighton Premier League
Michy Batshuayi Eden Hazard Chelsea Brighton Premier League

“Who is the best team this year? Man City. The strikers, [Gabriel] Jesus and [Sergio] Aguero, are not big. It's simple. It depends how you want to play. If you want to play with long balls you need a target man, if you want to keep the ball on the floor you need a small guy. It depends how you want to play.

“Yes, it sometimes happens. From the first minute until the last one you feel confident. When you score early it's easier because you have the confidence straight from the start of the game.

“When you see the second goal with Willian, it's one of the best of the season because we create movement with one touch, one touch, and then the finishing is good. We want to do more like this.

“No, no. Maybe one big boy can do that also! Of course we are sharp on the floor, so maybe it's easier to do the movement we are working on in training.”

Hazard completed only his second 90 minutes in the last nine games as Conte tries to protect him during a busy fixture schedule.

The forward also missed pre-season and had a broken ankle that he recovered from over the summer. Hazard spoke about his fitness and how he is being managed by his Italian boss.

“Yes I was not sure, but now I'm sure! It's good to play, good to score, so everything was good today. You can ask the manager. The manager answered last week, so I don't need to talk about this.


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“When I'm on the pitch I try to give my best, when I'm not on the pitch on the bench I want the team to do the best. That's it. I think it's normal when you miss two months of preseason with an injury.

"I had a good start to the season after the injury, and then it's not easy to stay on the top. But I try, I try to work in training and when I'm on the pitch I try to give everything. Sometimes it happens like today when we play an amazing game, sometimes not. I just keep going, keep training hard and try to do my best."