Ranking the 12 best moments of Eden Hazard's career | OneFootball

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Just over four years ago, Premier League defenders up and down the country breathed a collective sigh of relief when it was announced that one of the division's most-feared attackers was heading to sunny Spain for an enormous fee.

That must seem an awfully long time ago to Eden Hazard, who has been without a club since leaving Real Madrid almost three months ago. It's fair to say the Belgian's big-money move to the Spanish capital didn't work out the way he would have liked as injuries and lack of form limited him to just 76 appearances in four years with Los Blancos.

12 Ligue 1's youngest ever Player of the Year - 2011

Eden Hazard was already hot stuff by the time the 2010/11 campaign got underway, having won Ligue 1's Young Player of the Year award the previous two seasons. But through a combination of his club Lille's success as well as his own continued personal growth, it was to be his third full season in France that made Europe's elite clubs start to take notice.

Lille completed their first league and cup double since 1946 and Hazard's seven goals and 11 assists saw him become the division's youngest ever Player of the Year, aged just 20. He spent one more season with the French side, racking up an astonishing 20 goals and 18 assists and earning a second consecutive Player of the Year award before he was snapped up by Champions League winners Chelsea for £32 million.

11 An outstanding Chelsea debut - 2012

If there were any fears that the Belgian might take a while to live up to his price tag as he adjusted to the physicality of the Premier League, they were almost immediately dispelled after his Chelsea debut. Hazard ran the show in a 2-0 win away at Wigan, slipping in Branislav Ivanovic for the Blues' opener before earning a penalty which Frank Lampard duly converted, all within the first seven minutes of the match.

10 A dramatic last-minute screamer vs Sparta Prague - 2013

It had been a frustrating European campaign for Chelsea by the time they hosted Sparta Prague in the second leg of their Europa League round of 32 tie. Their Champions League title defence had collapsed in the group stage, costing manager Roberto Di Matteo his job, and his unpopular successor Rafael Benitez had only managed to lead Chelsea to a narrow 1-0 win in the first leg in the Czech capital.

To make matters worse, forward David Lafata had fired the visitors ahead at Stamford Bridge, levelling the score on aggregate, and a seemingly routine European tie for Chelsea looked to be heading to extra time. In stepped Eden Hazard, jinking past a Sparta Prague defender and beating the goalkeeper at his near post with a rasping shot into the roof of the net and securing his side's passage into the next round of a competition they would go on to win.

9 A first Premier League hat-trick - 2014

After scoring nine league goals in his debut season at Stamford Bridge, Hazard began to add more goals to his game the following season under new manager, Jose Mourinho. He ended his second season at the club with 17 goals in all competitions, 14 in the league, which included his first Premier League hat-trick in a 3-0 home win over Newcastle United.

8 A title-clinching goal vs Crystal Palace - 2015

The 2014/15 season was a truly memorable one for Eden Hazard as he won the PFA Player of the Year award for the first time, after scoring 14 goals and registering 10 assists in the Premier League. He also helped Chelsea to their first league title in five years, scoring the only goal of the game against Crystal Palace which confirmed the Blues as Champions.

7 A winning penalty in the FA Cup Final - 2018

At the end of a relatively frustrating 2017/18 season for Chelsea, Hazard ensured the club still didn't go without silverware for the campaign. In an otherwise cagey FA Cup final against Manchester United, the Belgian won a penalty in the 22nd minute when Phil Jones brought him down in the penalty area after he'd burst through on goal. The winger made no mistake from the spot, sending David de Gea the wrong way and sealing the eighth FA Cup in the club's history.

6 A brilliant solo goal vs Liverpool - 2018

By the time Liverpool and Chelsea were drawn to face each other in the third round of the 2018-19 Carabao Cup, the Reds' resurgence under Jurgen Klopp was well underway and they were beginning to make Anfield a fortress. Indeed, they would only lose once at home in all competitions all season and Hazard ensured that defeat came against Chelsea, as he scored the winner in the 84th minute after turning Alberto Moreno and Naby Keita inside out and rattling a shot past Simon Mignolet.

5 Captaining Belgium to third place at the World Cup - 2018

Eden Hazard was one of the biggest names within Belgium's Golden Generation and won 126 caps for his country, making him the fourth-most capped player in their history. This Golden Generation culminated in a third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup in which Hazard captained his country, winning three Man of the Match awards in Russia as well as setting a record for most successful dribbles (10/10) in any World Cup game since 1966, during Belgium's 2-1 win over Brazil in the quarter-final.

4 A perfect farewell - 2019

There was already a lot of uncertainty over Eden Hazard's future by the time the 2019 Europa League Final against Arsenal rolled around. It would indeed prove to be the Belgian's last match in a Chelsea shirt and he gave the supporters something to remember him by, scoring twice and earning an assist as the Blues ran out rampant 4-1 winners. It was the perfect way to end seven years at Stamford Bridge and rounded off another outstanding individual campaign in which the winger scored 21 goals and racked up 17 assists in all competitions, earning him a dream move to Real Madrid.

3 A deciding goal in the Battle of the Bridge - 2016

It's fair to say the 2015/16 campaign was one to forget for Hazard and Chelsea in general, as they dropped from the Premier League's summit to 10th place. However, he still gave the Chelsea supporters a moment to savour, scoring a spectacular late equaliser in a feisty encounter with arch-rivals Tottenham that mathematically confirmed Leicester City as Premier League champions.

2 A world-class solo goal vs West Ham - 2019

Eden Hazard is regarded as one of the best dribblers in Premier League history and perhaps that was never proved better than with the goal he scored in a 2-0 win over West Ham United in his final season at Chelsea.

In the 24th minute, with the score still at 0-0, the Belgian received the ball in acres of space in the middle of the park and quickly turned to face the West Ham goal. Mark Noble immediately came to confront him but Hazard charged away from him with ease and was now met with two towering centre-backs in the form of Angelo Ogbonna and Fabian Balbuena. But the winger danced past them both as if they weren't there and was able to slot home despite Ryan Fredericks' desperate lunge.

1 A magnificent solo goal vs Arsenal - 2017

With Chelsea romping to their second league title in three seasons, Eden Hazard was playing with the utmost confidence and this was demonstrated with another fantastic solo goal. The Blues were 1-0 up against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge when, early in the second half, the winger picked up on a loose ball on the halfway line and steered away from Laurent Koscielny.

Defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin then attempted to shrug Hazard off the ball but the Belgian's agility and balance was too much for the Frenchman and he was eventually sent spinning to the ground. Hazard was now bearing down on Koscielny again and his quick feet meant he was able to take it away from the defender and lift his strike over former teammate Petr Cech. It is still regarded as one of the greatest solo strikes in Premier League history.