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Eden Hazard and Neymar are arguably the best-left wingers in the game right now. They both are devastating in one on one situations and a nightmare to play against. They are said to be the prime candidates for Ballon d'Or after the era of Messi and Ronaldo. It would be fair to say that they would make any team better.
Despite playing in the same position they are very different players. They have completely different styles to how they play the game. In this article, we look at three key differences between Neymar and Hazard.
1. Dribbling
In simple terms, Hazard is similar to Messi in dribbling and Neymar is similar to a younger Cristiano Ronaldo or Ronaldinho.
Eden Hazard relies on his change of pace and low centre of gravity to get past players. He uses his body as a shield between him and the ball. He is physical yet graceful and glides past defenders as if they were not there.
Eden rarely uses tricks or skills to get past defenders. He does enjoy doing a rabona but aside that we rarely see him use a step-over. His style is easy on the eye and very effective.
Neymar, on the other hand, is known for his skills and tricks. He is truly Brazilian which can be seen in his stepovers, rainbow flicks and elastics. Neymar, like Hazard, is also very quick with the ball but he relies more on quick feet to get past players.
He may not glide past players like Hazard but he weaves a way around them. It may seem that Neymar is showboating at times but it is effective and that's what matters in football.
Both their dribbling styles are really different but one cannot argue that they are two of the most exciting players to watch in world football. But as you can expect, Eden has a better success rate than Neymar as he doesn't use too many tricks or skills.
2. Goalscoring
Neymar is simply a better goal scorer than Hazard. At least, the stats back it up.
As of 2018, In 212 appearances Neymar has 129 goals. In 393 appearances Hazard has 117 goals. While that is a massive difference but that is not all down to the player. Neymar for the majority of his career has played with attacking managers. Eden, on the other hand, has had to play under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.
Neymar has played in Barcelona and now plays in PSG. Both teams are known to score tons of goals and hence he simply has had more chances to score goals.
Having said that, Neymar is a better free kick taker and has a better shot than Hazard. He is more selfish than Hazard too and hence a better scorer. Hazard is far too unselfish to be a great scorer.
Goals win matches and so that is one place Eden is not as good as Neymar.
Disclaimer - All Stats are taken from WhoScored.com
3. Theatrics
It is fair to say that Neymar is more theatrical than Hazard.
Both players love to show emotion but Neymar takes it to another level. In the 2018 World Cup Neymar was criticised by almost everyone for the amount of time he spent on the floor. Both players go down with the slightest of contact but Neymar often goes down without any contact.
Aside from the diving, Neymar is just more flamboyant than Hazard. He is more marketable and more known around the world. It is fair to say that their game compliments their lifestyle. Neymar being flamboyant and Hazard being graceful.
