Former Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola believes that the sub-par performances of the club’s two greatest assists have been behind their sluggish start to the 2015/16 season, the Daily Express reports.
Jose Mourinho’s side are currently struggling along in 16th place in the table, having won just three of the opening 12 games in the Premier League so far.
And Zola believes that a lot of that is down to the poor form displayed by star pair Hazard and Diego Costa, who have only found the net twice between them since their title defence kicked off back in August.
The diminutive Italian also said he was disappointed with the form of the club’s once air-tight defence, but insisted that he had confidence that they have enough about them to turn their season around.
“There is one compelling reason for the poor start to the season,” Zola, who spent seven years at Stamford Bridge between 1996 and 2003, said of his former club.
“The poor form of key offensive players Eden Hazard and Diego Costa has not helped. Defensively as well the team has dropped the standards set last year.
“The players have lost confidence as a group and this has led to poor results. The club has it in them to turn around their fortunes.”
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