Reborn Eden is a Hazard again
Belgium winger back to his best under Conte
CHELSEA 3
(Eden Hazard 9, Willian 41, Victor Moses 89)
BURNLEY 0
At a third time of asking, Chelsea's latecomers have finally become early birds.
Last atop the English Premier League summit on May 24 last year - some 461 days prior - the Blues' re-emergence at the business end of the table is unlikely to be a fleeting one judging by the fashion in which Burnley were put to the sword at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night (Aug 27).
Neither is the current renaissance of Eden Hazard.
The sulks and struggles which characterised an underwhelming previous campaign for the Belgium winger appear to be a distant memory as he also turned back the clock.
Absence clearly made the heart grow fonder for Hazard after rebuilding his stock with a starring role in his country's run to the Euro 2016 quarter-finals earlier this summer.
Whether it was the change of manager or that he has re-focused following a season of needlessly fluttering his eyelashes at potential yet disinterested suitors, such as Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, Hazard appears reborn for Chelsea this season.
His performance against Burnley was on par with those from his title-winning vintage of just two seasons prior.
TRADEMARK
A trademark run and drop of the shoulder saw him open the scoring in trademark fashion after just under 10 minutes.
A hat-trick could have been sewn up within an hour but for goalline clearances from Ben Mee and Tom Heaton's reflexes denying him the chance to take home a deserved match ball.
Now with six goals in his previous eight EPL games - two of them coming this season - the contrast with the combined six from 44 prior to that shows that Hazard's renaissance is unlikely to be a transient occurrence.
Antonio Conte's attempt to rouse the former champions, dethroned in a rapid and humiliating fashion less than 12 months ago, has also sparked fresh life into Stamford Bridge as a whole, with his side back revelling in their former glories last night.
That superiority may have only reigned for a brief few hours, but the confidence on show suggests the Chelsea of old have returned after an inglorious season-long hiatus.
But Conte will demand more from his rampant if not overly ruthless side.
Leaving it late in their opening two EPL games and a narrow League Cup victory over Bristol Rovers - two divisions beneath them - in midweek prompted the Italian to demand that his players killed off opponents in a far more emphatic and prompt fashion.
Mission accomplished on the scoreline yesterday, heading into the interval with a two-goal advantage, but addressing profligacy issues remains something of a work in progress.
John Terry, notably, blazed over, but it was the tribulations of Diego Costa who proved the greatest culprit in failing to fire.
Like Hazard, another esteemed member of the 2014/15 class, his own resurgence had boded well.
Countless opportunities presented themselves to the Spain international, courtesy of Hazard. Fluffing his lines, however, triumphed over finesse in prominent positions.
After a succession of last-minute goals had spared Chelsea's blushes against West Ham and Watford, Costa found himself back in the right place at right time but could not replicate his match-winning heroics.
This latest outing mirrored the struggles from the closing stages of last season, where he scored just once in five previous outings.
Conte, who introduced Michy Batshuayi in his place just 10 minutes from time, can only hope that Costa's form is still only temporary.
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