Chelsea can win league title, Hazard insists

                  

 Eden Hazard is confident Chelsea have the qualities to win the Premier League title following the 1-0 victory at Manchester City.

Chelsea ended City’s 100 per cent home record in the league this season on Monday after Branislav Ivanovic’s first-half goal moved Jose Mourinho’s side level on points with their opponents.

Though Mourinho has played down Chelsea’s title chances in his first season back in charge at Stamford Bridge, the Blues sit just two points behind leaders Arsenal.Hazard, who has been Chelsea’s star performer in recent weeks, praised the performance at the Etihad Stadium and is determined to keep his team in the fight for the title.

“Lots of people thought that we would just set out to defend,” Hazard is quoted in The Sun. “But it was the opposite.

“We analysed City’s style of play very well before the game and we came along to win.

“The discussions we had in advance were all about winning. The manager said, ‘Don’t defend, you are here to attack and score goals’. He said the same to all our attacking players.

“We really did things in fine style. The three points will be important in the title race.

“We are aiming to win the league. It won’t be easy, but we won’t give up, we have the qualities needed to do it.

“Let’s see what happens between now and the end of the season.”

Chelsea defender Gary Cahill also claims there was never any intention of sitting back and playing solely to cancel out the title favourites.The England international said: “It makes me laugh when people say that. But we were disciplined defensively with the two midfielders and centre-backs staying solid.

“It was a class performance. We had to weather the storm for the first 10 or 15 minutes but the work-rate was fantastic and we managed to get the result we deserved overall.

“Jose has the CV for a reason. He is obviously a top-quality manager and we worked on a few things in the last couple of days which he was adamant we put into practice.