English Premier League : Hazard has world at his feet, says Lampard

Chelsea veteran praises Belgian after performance against West Ham.

LONDON: Chelsea’s young Belgian winger Eden Hazard has the attributes to become one of the world’s best footballers, according to Frank Lampard.

Hazard is in the middle of a purple patch of form and his dynamic raids were a feature of Sunday’s 2-0 victory over London rivals West Ham United in the Premier League.

Lampard stole the spotlight after opening the scoring with his 200th goal for the club but he was gushing in his praise of Hazard.

“Eden is 22 and he has got the world at his feet and he can handle the pressure because he is that good,” he said. “His ability and speed off the mark and the way he is able to turn on a sixpence is what all great attacking players have and he’s got it in abundance.”

Villas-Boas not concerned
by Spurs slump

Meanwhile, Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas is confident his side can hold on to a top-four position in the Premier League for the rest of the season despite suffering a third successive defeat.

A goal early in the second half from Dimitar Berbatov was enough to earn Fulham a rare away win on Sunday, as Spurs slipped one place to fourth.

The 1-0 defeat added to reverses at Liverpool in the Premier League and Inter Milan in the Europa League.

“You can’t hide from what has happened in the past at Spurs,” said the Portuguese. “But you do have an opportunity to fight it. It has been a difficult month for us but if we can find our form, our confidence and our wins, then we will be able to invert that cycle that happens normally with Spurs. I’m confident.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19^th, 2013.