Eden Hazard Cut Through Southampton's Defense to Score a Chelsea Equalizer

Eden Hazard could be the best player in the EPL this season. However the Chelsea winger sometimes gets over-shadowed by his own teammates, be it because of the scoring of Diego Costa or the midfield mastery of Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic. Quality goals like this, scything through the Southampton defense remind you how deadly Hazard is with the ball at his feet in-and-around the penalty area.

Admittedly I’m not the smartest person, but I’d think you might want to mark Hazard a little bit closer when he cuts inside like that. But that’s me.

Eden Hazard: Completed more passes in the final third (22) in the first half of #SOUCHE than Southampton managed as a whole (21)
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) December 28, 2014

The stoppage-time goal was important, too, since Chelsea were down 1-0 at the time and the announcers on the game broadcast already began speculating about Manchester City pulling ahead of the Blues later in the day. No matter, Hazard’s equalizer — Chelsea’s first attempt of the game — quieted that talk for the time being.