Mourinho hails ‘fantastic’ Hazard after Chelsea down Liverpool

Jose Mourinho reserved special praise for Eden Hazard after Chelsea edged past Liverpool to keep within two points of Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Martin Skrtel gave Liverpool an early lead at Stamford Bridge before goals from Hazard and Samuel Eto’o turned the game around for Mourinho’s men.

The kid is giving everything with a fantastic mentality

Jose Mourinho

And the Chelsea boss, whose side are third in the league table heading into 2014, was gushing with praise for the 22-year-old Belgium international.

“He’s working fantastic,” said Mourinho. Today I decided to play him not wide on the left, because I know [Glen] Johnson attacks a lot.

“Eden is one of the players who play every match so if I play him on the left the game would fly by and his energy would disappear, so I kept him playing inside and outside right to keep his energy to attack and create situations.

“The kid is giving everything with a fantastic mentality. He’s changing because now he understands responsibilities, it’s not just about getting the ball and playing like you are 13 or 14 in the street, there are other ingredients to play at this level.

“He has already eight goals in the first phase of the season, playing in the position he plays where he has defensive responsibilities, scoring only one penalty out of the eight goals, he’s been more objective and that’s important.”