Chelsea will take on Liverpool in a vital Premier League clash at Anfield, and Jurgen Klopp is wary of Eden Hazard’s threat ahead of the game.
Chelsea travels to Anfield to take on the league leaders in a significant Premier League clash.
While Liverpool will aim to secure a win to remain in the title race, Chelsea cannot afford to drop points as well, as they’re currently in the battle for a top-4 finish.
Maurizio Sarri’s men are in good form at the moment, having won their three last games with relative ease. Eden Hazard is back among the goals as well, while youngsters Hudson-Odoi and Loftus-Cheek have stepped up for the side as well.
Jurgen Klopp realizes the threat of Eden Hazard, and made an interesting statement ahead of the clash at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp on Eden Hazard:
The Liverpool manager interacted with the media for the pre-match conference for the game against Chelsea and talked about Eden Hazard’s performances of late.
Klopp jokingly stated that he will enter the pitch with 13 players, with two solely tracking the Belgian attacker.
“We will take 13 players, and two will play only against Eden,” Klopp said, ensuing laughter across the room.
“The best way to try to make sure that he cannot shine is to avoid passes to him,” Klopp added. “React a little bit better than other teams did.”
Klopp spoke highly of Eden Hazard, stating that it is impossible to defend against him in a one-on-one situation. He added that the defence needs to be tight on the Chelsea attacker to deny him the freedom to play as he wants.
“It’s not easy, because when he has the ball it’s already too late. You try to read the game, read the passes. But in the end, in a 1-v-1 situation, you cannot defend him. You need help from somewhere else.
“I like footballers like this. If he plays his best game, we have to deal with that. And if we can make sure they cannot play as they usually do, that’s good for us.”
How Twitter reacted..
⚽️ Eden Hazard has scored four times against LFC at Anfield.
🚫 Here’s Klopp on the Belgian and how best to stop him.
📺 Watch more: https://t.co/kjktAaPibC pic.twitter.com/PLb5wcplYH
— This Is Anfield (@thisisanfield) April 12, 2019
“On his day he can be the world’s best. He has had a brilliant career so far and he has a lot of the things that I like in football…We will try to make sure he doesn’t shine.”
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 13, 2019
Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that his team will be heavily marking Eden Hazard on Sunday, stating he cannot be left in 1 v 1 situations.
This could work in our favour, freeing up space for these two to do what they do best 🔥 pic.twitter.com/oFsC1nyXxp
— Chelsea Echo (@ChelseaEcho_) April 12, 2019
What next?
Chelsea will take on Liverpool on Sunday, before both the sides play in the second legs of their respective European campaigns.
