Chelsea winger Eden Hazard registered a brace to power the Blues to a 3-1 win over Newcastle United in their Premier League tie on Saturday and his manager, Antonio Conte, singled out the Belgian for praise in the aftermath of their victory.

“I think Eden Hazard is enjoying a lot playing this sort of football,” a visibly happy Conte enthused after the game.

Advertisement

Don’t miss: Eden Hazard inspires Chelsea comeback against Newcastle United

Dwight Gayle had given the visitors a shock lead in the 12th minute but Chelsea responded via Hazard in the 21st minute before club-record signing Alvaro Morata headed the hosts in front with a close-ranger header 12 minutes before half-time.

“Eden for us is an important player because with him we can change our system, he can play as a second striker or a number 10 when we play 3-4-3. Eden and Alvaro showed a great link today,” Conte added.

Hazard would then score a paneka penalty after the returning Victor Moses had been brought down in the box to make sure of the result and Conte said he wasn’t concerned with how the Belgian scored as long as he put the ball into the back of the net.

“The most important thing was to score, regardless of the method of taking the spot-kick,” Conte stated on the topic of Hazard’s audacious penalty.

With the win, Chelsea went level on points with second-placed Manchester United, who have played a game less, and momentarily reduced the gap between themselves and leaders Manchester City to eight points.

“We must be pleased, it was a good answer from all my players,” the Italian tactician reflected on the game as he continued, “Maybe we started the game a bit slowly but after we went 1-0 down we started to play with good intensity and had chances to score. It was a good performance from all my players and I’m very happy about this. It was another good reaction. It’s not simple to go 1-0 down and have the right will and desire to fight to win”.

The Blues now turn their attention towards a mid-week clash with Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League and with top spot in Group C still up for grab, Chelsea will hope their domestic form serves them well in the continental competition.