HAZARD PROVES WORTH TO CHELSEA BUT MISFIRING MORATA STILL STRUGGLING

        Eden Hazard's 51st-minute winner at Bournemouth was a source of great delight for the Chelsea winger but also came as welcome relief for his struggling team-mate, Alvaro Morata.
Had the brilliant Belgian not made the breakthrough at the Vitality Stadium, Morata would doubtless have come in for strong criticism for a wasteful evening in front of goal.

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The Spain international has been very effective since arriving at Stamford Bridge but the hamstring injury he suffered against Manchester City has disrupted his rhythm and he was grateful to Hazard for delivering the goods against a dogged Bournemouth side.

Hazard was putting chances on a plate for Chelsea's No.9 but ultimately had to take matters into his own hands and earn the visitors three precious points, which have propelled the Blues up to fourth in the Premier League standings, just a point behind Tottenham.

Indeed, the 26-year-old's virtuoso performance only made it even clearer that Chelsea simply have to persuade Hazard to renew his contract at the club. He was head and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch.

Morata may be Chelsea's record signing but Hazard remains the club's most valuable player and he has recovered his form quickly despite breaking his ankle during the summer, which resulted in him missing pre-season.
Hazard's fifth strike in five games against the Cherries - who must be sick of the sight of him - was also his 75th goal the club since signing from Lille in 2012. The Belgium captain also now has three goals in his past three matches for Chelsea - which is as many as he had managed in his previous 17 outings.

 Morata, meanwhile, isn't the finished article yet and his recent hamstring injury has led to this dip in form. He has no goal in five games but it was the drop in the quality of his build-up play at Bournemouth that might prompt Michy Batshuayi to ask questions of Conte and his team selection.

Morata lost the ball 15 times and his pass accuracy of 69.6 per cent was lower than any other player to have started the game - bar Bournemouth goalkeeper Asmir Begovic. Batshuayi eventually replaced him up front and has been in good form of late, matching Morata's eight-goal return with less minutes on the pitch.

Admittedly, Morata was wrongly flagged offside after converting a David Luiz shot and perhaps it will only take a slice of luck to help him rediscover his fine form at the start of the season.
However, there's never any room for sympathy at Chelsea, with the harshest criticism coming even at the slightest sight of a drop in quality.