
Eden
Hazard is "magical" on the training pitch and showed his talent in Chelsea's
win over Bournemouth, says team-mate Ross Barkley.
Hazard scored the only goal with just six minutes remaining as the Blues
squeezed past Eddie Howe's side on Tuesday night to reach the Carabao Cup
semi-finals, where they will face London rivals Tottenham over two legs.
Barkley started last night's match but was substituted on 61 minutes,
replaced by Hazard who came off the bench, and the England international
feels he knew a Chelsea goal was coming.
"The way we were playing, you could see we had the belief that a goal was
going to come," he told Sky Sports.
"When Eden got that goal, he can produce magic moments like that. Credit to
him and the team who got stuck in.
"He's playing really well. He's up there with the best in the world. He can
produce goals like that out of nothing and to play with a player like that
is fantastic.
"He's relaxed, but once he's on the training pitch he's magical. He plays
with enjoyment. He scores goals and creates goals. He's laid-back, but on
game day he's ready to make things happen."
Hazard has been in blistering form this season, registering 10 goals and
nine assists in 20 games across all competitions.
The Belgium international enters the final year of his contract next summer
and is torn between signing a new deal and joining Real Madrid.
He was doubtful for Wednesday's win over the Cherries - having picked up a
knock in Chelsea's win over Brighton on Sunday - and is likely to be
involved against Spurs in the last four, with ties on December 8 and
December 22.
Barkley is under no illusions that it will be a hard test for his Chelsea
team-mates, especially considering their 3-1 Premier League defeat to
Mauricio Pochettino's side at Wembley in November.
"Tottenham are a good side but we come into it with confidence and knowing
what we need to do to reach the final," he added. "We will train really
hard.
"That will be in the back of our minds [Chelsea's defeat at Wembley] because
there are our rivals and we want to beat our rivals. It's going to be a very
exciting game."