Rudiger: Eden Hazard ‘too unselfish’ to be top scorer

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has claimed teammate Eden Hazard is ‘too unselfish’ to be amongst the world’s top scorers.

The Belgian has been in fine form for the Blues this season, consistently performing well in the ‘false nine’ role and notching 12 goals in all appearances. The 27-year-old recently brought up his century of Chelsea goals, scoring twice in his side’s 2-1 victory over Watford on Wednesday.

Still, Rudiger feels Hazard could find the net with even more consistency if it weren’t for his proclivity to turn provider as well. As quoted by The Mirror, the German international said: “With respect to the others, I think in the Premier League they are not stupid players, so to reach 40 goals? Maybe he can do it. But what he does is OK. We need to respect the other teams, it’s not like they are bad or something.

“He does not have too much of an ego. If he sees other players standing in a better position, he plays them in. I think that’s fair enough. [In] every position he is doing his thing, he is strong. He will also challenge big players in the air. He is doing a fantastic job.”

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Hazard’s scoring stats support Rudiger’s view

Very few would argue that Hazard is not one of the best attacking players in the world today. However, while there is little doubt that he can cause problems against any team, the stats do not suggest that he is a player who can reach 40 goals a season, no matter what his manager may have claimed in the past. Hazard’s record goals tally in a season was the 22 he bagged while on the books of Ligue 1 outfit Lille in 2011-2012.

Meanwhile, in Chelsea colours, Hazard’s record goals tally came during the season of 2014-15, when he managed 19 in all competitions. So, while the Belgian ace may not be the most prolific goalscorer in the world, Chelsea won’t be complaining about his return this term – especially when considering his nine assists for the Blues in the Premier League alone.

Featured image: “Eden Hazard / Эден Азар” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Aleksandr Osipov