Has Eden Hazard become overshadowed by Juan Mata?

For the first four games of the season, no Chelsea fan could stop drooling over the form of Eden Hazard. His performances at the beginning of the Premier League, contributing directly to seven of their eight goals, had many fans, including this one, comparing him to the form of David Silva at the beginning of last year for Manchester City.

I think most of us would agree that he set a high bar for himself, and since then hasn’t quite lived up to it. Is it because opposing defences have learned to focus on him? Has he become slightly lost in the front three, now that Oscar and Juan Mata are playing every game? While I’m not saying that he has become expendable by any means, I will say that it appears like a rejuvenated Mata has taken back his position as the top creator for the club.

Mata has looked amazing in the last month, and his recent omission from the Spain squad (which drew at France and could have used Mata) has caused waves around the Internet, a true sign that his play was being noticed. His performances against Arsenal and more recently against Norwich have really reminded us of his great class.

While Mata has fired, Hazard has faded a little. The passing play between the two has been good at times, including the beautiful goal against Norwich, but Hazard has lost his initial stellar play from the start of the season, when he was the club’s go-to man. In the game against Tottenham, Mata was by far the star. The pass from Hazard for his second goal was good, but it has become clear (once again), that the play starts with Mata.

Manchester City appear to have a similar problem with Nasri and Silva. Silva was the clear-cut player of the season up to about January, at which time he faded. But during that first half of the season, Nasri appeared below par. When Silva faded some, Nasri appeared to get into his stride. This still seems to be a problem for Manchester City, as the two have never completely gelled together. In terms of another sport, it’s like the first season of having Dwayne Wade and Lebron James on the Miami Heat roster, when it appeared to be a “my turn, your turn” style offence, in which only one player could shine at a time.

While I don’t think that this will be the case with Hazard and Mata (basketball and football are fundamentally different), there does appear to be a problem. Hazard was always THE man at Lille and was used to getting the ball in their attacks at all times. Now he may have to play second fiddle to Mata at times, and it may take some adjusting. It could also be a case of him joining the EPL and taking some time to do a little adjusting (it took Silva a year essentially).

Either way, based on our current form, this isn’t the worst situation for the team to be in. However, it would be nice to see Hazard regain some of that dazzling form from the start of the season.

What do you guys think?

KTBFFH