#5 Eden Hazard
Not many managers would dare to drop the reigning PFA Player of the season when you desperately need a win. But again, Mourinho isn’t like other managers. Eden Hazard was instrumental in Chelsea’s title chase in the 2014-15 season as the winger scored 14 goals and assisted 9 and helped the Blues bring back the Premier League trophy to Stamford Bridge.
But a dip in the form next season meant Hazard was an easy target for Mourinho to send a message to the players who were underperforming. Chelsea needed to get back to winning ways against Aston Villa after a difficult start to the season in which they managed to win only two games till October. Mourinho decided to keep Hazard on the bench and preferred the youngster Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the starting lineup.
This was the first time in 18 months that the Belgian had to watch the game from the dugout. The winger had started 47 consecutive games before the clash against Villa. He was brought in for the last 7 minutes of the game but by that time the job was done as Chelsea were leading 2-0.
Mourinho justified his decision to drop Hazard claiming that “they were giving away a lot of goals and they needed defensive discipline”. But Hazard’s demotion to the bench meant that The Special One made a statement that whoever fails to meet his demand will face the consequences.