Eden Hazard became the latest critic of Jose Mourinho's tactical methods
after Chelsea exited the Champions League on Wednesday night, saying
"Chelsea is not made to play football."
The Blues were criticised for
defensive tactics employed in the semifinal first leg at Atletico Madrid
and in the Premier League win at Liverpool before tumbling out of
Europe following a 3-1 home loss.
And Hazard, who managed
three shots and led the Blues with two on target on Wednesday, expressed
his dissatisfaction after the second leg.
"I don't know what we
lacked," Hazard told beIN Sports' French station. "After scoring, we had
the game in our hands. Maybe they wanted it more than we did. It was an
intense game, beautiful to watch with opportunities. I'm sad but logic
has been respected because [Atletico] deserved to qualify.
"Chelsea is not made to play football. We're good on the counter, a little bit like Real against Bayern."
Hazard
was beaten twice by Atletico right-back Juanfran on plays that led to
two goals, but the Belgian
bemoaned a lack of assistance.
"Their
goal hurt us before the break," he said. "We failed to make the
difference in the second half. Often, I'm asked to do it all by myself
and it's not easy. It was a complicated game. It will be a lesson for us
regarding next year."
Jose Mourinho introduced the term
"parking the bus" into English football nearly a decade ago while
complaining about Tottenham's defensive tactics. Now he's regarded as
the ultimate exponent of that approach, sitting players back and waiting
to counter.
His team failed to score in a drab goalless
draw in the first draw against Atletico, but the same tactics worked
brilliantly in a 2-0 defeat of Premier League leaders Liverpool on
Sunday.
Mourinho stuck by his philosophy last week, saying,
"Atletico were frustrated, whereas usually they are the ones who
frustrate other teams. My side had a solid performance, we played in a
way that irritated them."
The tactics irritated pundits as
well, but Mourinho's decisions were defended by Andre Schuerrle and Mark
Schwarzer, as well as Atletico manager Diego Simeone.
After Wednesday's punishing defeat, though, Hazard's comment shows a lack of solidarity behind Mourinho's philosophy.
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