Jose Mourinho explains why he wants Eden Hazard on Chelsea's left flank instead of no.10 role

Eden Hazard has been struggling for goals this season

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes Eden Hazard’s best position is on the left wing, according to ESPN. The Belgian international had earlier revealed that he asked Mourinho to deploy him in the no.10 role after making a poor start to the season, and the switch has led to Hazard rediscovering some of his best form.

The English champions picked up their fourth victory of the season against Norwich City on Saturday and the 24-year-old finally sparkled as the team’s central playmaker. Hazard showed the kind of form that had led helped him win the PFA Player of the Year award last season.

The former Lille man has endured a difficult start to the season just like his side. He has struggled to emulate the form that inspired the Blues to a Premier League title-winning campaign along with the Capital One Cup triumph. This season, though, the Belgian has been way off the mark along with players such as Cesc Fabregas, Nemanja Matic, John Terry and Diego Costa.

In Saturday’s hard-fought victory against Norwich at Stamford Bridge, Hazard was given the no.10 role rather than his usual left-wing role but the Portuguese tactician has warned his star player not to get too comfortable in his favoured role for the Blues. Ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv, Mourinho has insisted that he still prefers the Belgian international on the flank despite his stunning performance at the weekend.

“I think his best position is the position where last season he was the player of the season,” Mourinho said in an interview. “There he can attack defenders more in an individual way.

“When he gets the ball it's more about him attacking the right-back and the right-back is always in trouble against a player who has his best quality in a one-against-one.”

He further added: “When he plays at no.10, he gets into areas where sometimes he is surrounded by teams with two or three players in the same zone.

“Many times he receives the ball with his back to the opponents and I know he can turn well, but I also know that players can be very aggressive with him and press him from behind and make lots of fouls like he always had.

“He can do both things. Let's see match after match what we think is the best for him it depends on what we want for the game.”