Eden Hazard makes bold claim about Chelsea’s season

Eden Hazard believes that Chelsea are ready to capitalise on their lack of European football by stepping up their domestic form this season.

The Blues came in for plenty of criticism last term after failing to produce consistent performances all season as they stuttered to a 10th-placed finish in the Premier League and ended up with their title defence in tatters.

Hazard, like many of his Chelsea team-mates, struggled for form and fitness as he failed to recreate the kind of performances that earned him the PFA player of the year award in 2015.

However, Chelsea’s lowly finish in the Premier League table means that the Blues do not have any European games distracting them this season.

And the 25-year-old playmaker feels that the west London side are well-placed to make that advantage count this season.

Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports, Hazard said: “It’s the first time since I came here I will not be playing Champions League or Europa League.

“For us it’s new, but we need to adapt, one game for one week, and we will see how we can do.

“We have a lot of rest in the week. For recovery it’s very good, sometimes in the Champions League you travel far and come back late. Sometimes it’s difficult. Now we just have one game and we need to concentrate on this game.”

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Chelsea kick off their Premier League season with a home clash against West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on Monday night in what will be Antonio Conte’s first official game in charge of the Blues.