Mourinho says Hazard must improve commitment to defence
Eden Hazard raised eyebrows when he questioned Chelsea's tactics following their 3-1 defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals.
Immediately, rumours regarding a move to Paris Saint-Germain surfaced.
On Friday, Jose Mourinho responded to Hazard's comments.
"First of all, I listen to the interview, the words are completely different than some media was bringing," Mourinho said, according to Miguel Delaney.
"The context was completely transformed. There was nothing critical in what he said. He had exactly the same words about the Belgium side. Normally, you get these comments from players like him, from players who can't resolve a problem like the first goal."
On the surface, it appears Mourinho is referring to Hazard's unwillingness to track back and commit to defending after Chelsea went up 1-0 via Fernando Torres. If that wasn't clear, the Chelsea boss continued:
Mourinho: "When comments come from player like Eden, the comments are normal, because he's not the player to sacrifice."
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) May 2, 2014
Mourinho asked if he's happy with Hazard's defensive commitment: "No, I'm not happy. He needs to improve."
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) May 2, 2014
Whether Chelsea's style is "pretty" or "beautiful" to watch is up for debate, but there's no doubting Mourinho's success when all of his players commit defensively.
Hazard's lapse allowed Juanfran to get in behind the Belgian midfielder and set up Atletico's equalizer.
"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," Mourinho added.
"If you see the first goal of Atletico you completely understand where the mistake was and why we conceded that goal."