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Eden Hazard’s wish is about to come true.
When the Belgian left Chelsea in 2019, he vowed to return one day and hoped to draw the Blues in the Champions League. The two sides had never met in the competition, but just under two years into Hazard’s Real career, he’s waved his magic wand and set both sides up for a collision in the semi-final.
Seeing Hazard on the same pitch as his old Chelsea teammates will be something special, and it’s a real shame that fans have been robbed of the chance to enjoy what could be the feel-good moment of the season.
His return deserved to be a real celebration, with fans from all corners of the stadium chanting his name. Hazard deserved the kind of homecoming Petr Cech was given with Arsenal or Frank Lampard received with Manchester City. He may have left the club, but his perfect relationship with the Blues remains.
There has been a strange feeling among the Chelsea fans online. It’s not often that you’re praying for one of the world’s best players to be available to face your team in a semi-final, but you won’t find one fan who doesn’t want to see Hazard up close again, even if he’s wearing white instead of blue.
It has always hurt watching Hazard strut his stuff for another team. He spoke openly about wanting to live his dream in Madrid, and while it’s been touching to see him do that (when he’s fit), the fact that he’s not wearing Chelsea blue has been a bitter pill to swallow.
During his near-decade at the Bridge, Hazard built up an incredible relationship with supporters, who are well aware that they owe pretty much all of their success since 2012 to the magnificent Belgian, whose injury struggles are probably due to spending seven years carrying an entire team. He gave his all for the club and deserves only the best in future.
However, that’s not to say Chelsea fans won’t be celebrating if he spends the entire game lost in Reece James’ back pocket.
At the end of the day, this is a Champions League semi-final, and if Chelsea have to go through Hazard to reach the next stage, then so be it. It would hurt to see him sad, but the delight at seeing Thibaut Courtois with his head in his hands as well would make it all worth it.
While Hazard remained committed to Chelsea until the last, Courtois went about things a little differently. He chose to go AWOL, failing to return for pre-season in the summer of 2018 to force through his own move to Real. It was his needs over those of the club, and while he got what he wanted, his lack of professionalism has not been forgotten. The snake emoji exists for a reason.
Courtois’ bridge back to Chelsea has been burned beyond repair, but Hazard’s ties are as strong as ever.
Just watching the majestic winger in action will be a special feeling, and when he returns to Stamford Bridge for the second leg, it will be something truly memorable.
For more from Tom Gott, follow him on Twitter!
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