“What the f*** are you doing?!” Former Chelsea striker blasts Hazard for Panenka penalty
Eden Hazard lacked professionalism by using a ‘Panenka’ penalty in Chelsea’s Carabao Cup final shoot-out defeat to Manchester City, according to former Blues striker Tony Cascarino.
The Belgium international used the chip technique to score his side’s fifth spot-kick on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to stop them losing 4-3.
The game was overshadowed by goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga’s refusal to be substituted late in extra time, but Cascarino believes Hazard was guilty of not taking the game seriously enough.
“There is a complete lack of leadership at Chelsea, from the top down,” he wrote in The Times.
“There are no leaders in the boardroom, no leaders in the dugout and certainly no leaders on the pitch. Nobody seems to have a clue what is going on and Kepa Arrizabalaga’s refusal to be substituted at Wembley typified that.
“Eden Hazard is by no means captain material but he should be one of the senior players leading by example. Instead he was taking the mickey with his Panenka penalty in the shoot-out against Manchester City.
“It was bordering on ridiculous. There should have been someone in the dressing room after that saying, 'What the f*** are you doing?'
"Would he do that in a World Cup final? No chance. He was not taking it seriously and it was completely unprofessional.
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"It summed up what is wrong at Chelsea. Players such as Hazard and Arrizabalaga are pushing boundaries because they know they can get away with it — and Maurizio Sarri’s uncertain future as head coach adds to their complacency.”
Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.