Hazard beats Giroud to Europa League best player award

With just 2 goals & 2 assists Eden Hazard beats Olivier Giroud to Europa League player of the year award

The Belgian attacking midfielder, 28, finished well clear of former Chelsea club-mate Olivier Giroud and Luka Jović – now a team-mate at Real Madrid – to win the third edition of the award, which was announced during the UEFA Europa League group stage draw in Monaco.

Hazard was man of the match as Chelsea beat Arsenal 4-1 in May’s final in Baku, setting up his side’s second goal and then scoring the third and fourth himself to crown his farewell game as a Blues player before his move to the Santiago Bernabéu.

The last of his seven seasons with the Blues was one in which he made a number of key interventions; he scored 21 goals in all competitions, and laid on 17 assists, statistics which earned him the club’s Player of the Season prize in early May.

Hazard was man of the match as Chelsea beat Arsenal 4-1 in the Baku final, the brilliant Belgian scoring twice on his farewell appearance for the club before joining Real Madrid.

Nominees & Stats

Olivier Giroud (Chelsea)

Appearances: 14

Minutes: 1125

Goals: 11

Assists: 5

Eden Hazard (Chelsea) (Now Madrid player)

Appearances: 8

Minutes: 451

Goals: 2

Assists: 2

Luka Jović (Eintracht Frankfurt) (Now Madrid player)

Appearances: 14

Minutes: 953

Goals: 10

Assists: 1