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One look at the way the Chelsea team is playing this season would make you think their epic defensive displays en route to winning their first Champions League in May actually happened years ago. Roberto Di Matteo’s men have thrown off the shackles and are playing some wonderful attacking football, none more so than the classy Eden Hazard. Here the Life’s a Pitch team takes a closer look at the Belgian star who has been orchestrating the Chelsea midfield.

“They’re wonderful to watch, aren’t they?” begins the Daily Mirror’s John Cross. ”They just seemed to have clicked, in particular the threesome of Juan Mata, Hazard and Fernando Torres. They have this wonderful telepathic understanding between them; they seem to be linked up – particularly Hazard and Torres. Torres needed a new energy, a new impetus, and he seems to have got that from Hazard.”

The Sunday Telegraph’s Jason Burt has also been impressed by how quickly Hazard has settled into life at Chelsea. “He’s delivering. I think he’s going to be quite a character for the Premier League. He’s only 21 still, but he certainly does not lack confidence on and off the field. On the field he’s the main man already, everything is going through him. They’re scoring goals through him, he’s scoring goals himself now. He has that confidence.”

But after only a hanful of games, the Mail on Sunday’s Ian Ridley reckons it’s too soon to start lauding Hazard. “I’m not getting carried away, they’ve beaten Wigan and Reading, so this isn’t the brave new world just yet. But he is promising, he’s a nice player. He’s almost the player that Joe Cole could and should have been. But there’s a long way to go yet.”

The panel also previews the UEFA Super Cup tie against Atletico Madrid.

Watch the full video discussion by clicking on the play button in the image above. 

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Chelsea v Atletico Madrid, 7pm, 31 August, Sky Sports 2
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