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3) The formation frees up Chelsea’s strongest attacking forces
One of the players to really benefit from the 3-4-3 change is Eden Hazard. Before the switch, the Belgian was played out on the wing, but without the wing-backs in place, Hazard had to do a defensive job and help his full-back out. The 25-year-old is by no means a defensive player and has been caught napping and not tracking his man on a couple of occasions this season, most notably against Arsenal at the Emirates.
However, playing in the 3-4-3 system, it is the wing-backs job to track back and help out the defence, and this frees Hazard of all of his previous defensive responsibilities, allowing him to focus solely on causing trouble for the opposition.
Since the change in formation, Hazard has scored seven goals in his last eight, including a brace against Everton a couple of weeks ago, a goal against Manchester United and the third and final Chelsea goal on the break against Manchester City.
