FOOTBALL: Mourinho must reintergrate lone creative spark Hazard or lose his job

Eden Hazard and Jose Mourinho have been actors on this stage before. The circumstances were of course of different magnitude and consequence but this is a scene that has been played out in the past. The occasion was Chelsea’s 1-3 loss to Atlético Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final clash in Mourinho’s first season back at Stamford Bridge; Hazard failed to track the run of Atlético right back Juanfran who put in a cross that Adrian Lopez bundled in for the Spanish side’s equaliser. Atlético went on to score two more goals to dump the Blues out of the competition but the damage, according to Mourinho anyway, was done when they scored the vital away goal. The Portuguese was livid and Hazard was on the receiving end of his manager’s withering comments.

"I listened to the interview," said Mourinho, in response to Hazard’s remarks that Chelsea were set up to counter-attack as opposed to taking the initiative. "There was nothing critical in what he said. When the comments come from a player like Eden it's normal because he's not the kind of player to sacrifice himself for the team. Normally you get these kind of comments from players like him, from players that can't resolve a problem like we had in the first goal.

"Eden is the kind of player that is not so mentally ready to look back to his left-back and to leave his life for him. If you see the first goal of Atlético you completely understand where the mistake was and why we conceded that goal. The perfect team at the top level cannot make these kinds of mistakes.”

Chelsea’s torrid start to their title defence has meant Mourinho has tried every trick in the book to halt their terrible run of form with limited success and Saturday’s visit of a woefully inept Aston Villa provided the Blues with a perfect opportunity to get their season back on track. A routine victory coupled with a first Premier League clean sheet in 4 games should have passed without incident but when asked about the only contentious issue of the day – the omission of Hazard – Mourinho came out all guns blazing.

“I left out Hazard because we are conceding lots of goals,” Mourinho said after the game. "We need to defend better. We need our midfielders to be just worried in the central area of the pitch, not worrying about compensation on the left or right.

"Playing with Willian and Pedro, the midfielders don't have to move left or right. They know those parts are controlled. Pedro and Willian did amazing work and allowed the midfielders to be very comfortable and have performances like Ramires' and [Cesc] Fabregas,' controlling totally the centre of the pitch. It was a tactical decision. Leaving super quality on the bench, but bringing tactical discipline and hoping the team could be solid.”

His stance was understandable, Chelsea are conceding goals like it’s going out of fashion and as the captain of a sinking ship, he’s right to find the solution in any manner he deems fit. When asked if this decision was a one-off, however, Mourinho suggested it wasn’t. "I continue that way [with this lineup] or [Hazard] comes in our direction and tries to emulate the same work that Willian and Pedro put in." The message was simple: Hazard wasn’t following Mourinho’s instructions as he’d have wanted him to and although the Belgian started on Tuesday in the goalless draw at Dynamo Kiev, the suspicion was that he was only in the team due to Pedro’s absence through injury.

Hazard and Mourinho’s relationship has always appeared to be a marriage of convenience; a union of two men mutually beneficial to each other. Hazard represents the sole creative spark in Mourinho’s side, a player of immense potential capable of winning games with a drop of the shoulder and a turn of pace. For Hazard, Mourinho is his first truly world-class manager, the man who, in theory, would elevate him to the stratosphere of the Messis and Ronaldos of this world. Hazard has never been famed for his defensive capabilities or awareness and in a way is the embodiment of the anti-Mourinho winger.

The archetypal Mourinho winger is defensively sound with the work rate and energy of a bull. He his expected to counter-attack with pace and get into position as soon as the opposition win the ball. Many have failed to adapt to Mourinho’s methods in his second coming – Mohammed Salah, Kevin De Bruyne and Juan Mata etc. – and they have been sold. But Hazard has always been different, in the same way Cristiano Ronaldo was during Mourinho’s time at Real Madrid. Their numerous moments of jaw-dropping magic means they offset their manager’s need for them to operate essentially as glorified wing-backs with Mourinho reaping the benefits of their consistent brilliance.

Hazard was virtually unplayable as Chelsea won the League at a canter last term and in the second half of the season when Mourinho reverted to the basics and Fabregas suffered his now annual spring dip in form, the Belgian was Chelsea’s go-to-man, the only source of excitement amidst the dour and uninspiring style of football his side played in the closing stages of the 2014/15 campaign. His stats were also eye-catching: 14 goals scored, 9 assists, 99 chances created, 113 fouls suffered and 23 opponents booked for fouling him in 38 matches; he was an ever-present.

The problem with players of Hazard’s ilk in Mourinho’s system is that when the end product dries up – as it has for Hazard so far this season – they become just another player albeit one incapable of harrying and hassling the opposition into submission. But to lay the blame of Chelsea’s awful defensive record solely at Hazard’s feet would be facile as the entire team have yet to rediscover their best form from last season – save for Willian who has been Chelsea’s attacking totem carrier this season. Willian is particularly an interesting case as he represents perhaps Mourinho’s lone success in adding a defensive layer to the game of an attack-minded player of immense flair.

Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona side defended from high up the pitch as possible with their manager introducing the ‘6 second rule’, the amount of time within which his team should strive to win the ball back. “I want Messi as far forward as possible,” Guardiola once said and Thierry Henry says he worked hardest playing under Guardiola. The implication here is that it would be foolhardy to suggest that Hazard, for all his talents, should be a luxurious bystander, a fair-weather player exempt from defending but what Mourinho demands from him is a stretch too far. Defending from high up the pitch, pressing the opponents into giving the ball back as quickly as possible and chasing attackers up and down a flank are two wholly different concepts. The impression is that Ji-Sung Park or James Milner would be the ideal, standard issue Mourinho winger.

With Chelsea still mired in the ruins of their disastrous start to the campaign, Mourinho is faced with the task of finding a way out before the voices of discontent grow even louder. Hazard remains Chelsea’s best player and effervescent attacking bright light without whom it will be nigh on impossible for them to return to their swaggering form of old. Mourinho remains a highly intelligent manager and it will not be lost on him that re-integrating Hazard back into the fold is crucial to his plans of getting his side’s season started once and for all.

Aanu Adeoye writes for the Guardian, FourFourTwo, VICE and the 12th player. Follow him on Twitter @aanuadeoye