Sarri doubts Hazard leadership skills

LONDON (AP):

Months after captaining Belgium to the FIFA World Cup semi-finals, Eden Hazard had his leadership qualities questioned by Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri yesterday, and was urged to do more to fulfil his potential.

"In this moment, he's more an individual player than a leader," said Sarri, who has not been afraid to point the finger at Chelsea's players since arriving in England in the summer.

The latest remarks from the straight-talking Sarri came four days after the Italian coach questioned the attitude and character of his squad following a 2-0 loss to Arsenal in the English Premier League.

Only two months ago, Sarri said World Cup-winning France midfielder N'Golo Kante did not have the technical qualities to play as Chelsea's holding midfielder and criticised his display in a loss to Tottenham.

Now it is Hazard, Chelsea's most creative player, who has been publicly singled out by Sarri as he spoke in a news conference ahead of the second leg of Chelsea's English League Cup semi-final against Tottenham today.

"I think he has to do more," Sarri said of Hazard. "Because the potential is higher than the performances. He has to respect, first of all, himself. He has to do more. You know very well that Eden, at the moment, is a wonderful player. But he's an individual player. He's an instinctive player. For him, it's very difficult to play only in one position."

Hazard has been asked to play as Chelsea's centre forward in recent weeks, partly to absolve him of any defensive responsibilities but also because Sarri's two other strikers, Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata, have not been scoring enough goals. It explains why Chelsea is in final negotiations to sign Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain from AC Milan.

"In this moment, he's more an individual player than a leader."