Chelsea player ratings, stats and reaction as Eden Hazard magic vs Brighton sees him overtake Blues legend

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Chelsea beat Brighton 4-0 in a comfortable win this afternoon that included a landmark strike for Eden Hazard and a goal of the season contender from Willian.

The Blues stunned their hosts with two goals in the opening six minutes of the game, with Willian’s a particular beauty as it came at the end of a flowing team move.

Hazard added a third later in the second half before Victor Moses capped it all off with a fourth to make sure Antonio Conte’s side ended a torrid run of five draws in a row in all competitions.

Read on for Chelsea player ratings, stats and more…

Man of the match

Eden Hazard had another hugely influential game for Chelsea

With two goals, we’re just about giving it to Hazard, even though Willian’s superb display makes him a genuine contender as well.

Overall, however, the Belgian was unplayable with some lethal finishing and great skill on the ball in tight situations, making Brighton’s defence look ordinary at best.

The spark has been missing of late for Chelsea, but this magic from Hazard is precisely why he’s so important to the west Londoners as they ended their run of five games without a win.

Flop of the match

None of the home side’s defence covered themselves with glory here, but Markus Suttner had a particularly difficult time as Chelsea ran riot.

The left-back could not cope with the intelligent play of Willian, who lost him to grab a goal and an assist before eventually being subbed off.

It’s the struggles of defenders like this that could yet see Chris Hughton’s side go down at the end of the season.

Stat of the match

As well as scoring the 100th league goal of his career, Hazard is now on 102 goals and assists in the Premier League for Chelsea, putting just ahead of the legendary Gianfranco Zola.

Okay, so he may have a tough time catching up with those INSANE numbers from Frank Lampard, but it’s a fine achievement nevertheless and Didier Drogba should be well within reach…

Chelsea player ratings

Willy Caballero – 8

Cesar Azpilicueta – 7

Andreas Christensen – 7 (sub: David Luiz – 6)

Antonio Rudiger – 7

Victor Moses – 8

Marcos Alonso – 7 (sub: Davide Zappacosta – 6)

N’Golo Kante – 7

Tiemoue Bakayoko – 8

Willian – 9 (Charly Musonda – 6)

Eden Hazard – 9

Michy Batshuayi – 7

Willian was on form for Chelsea against Brighton

Reaction

It’s no surprise to see that virtually all the love was for Hazard after this masterclass display…

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