Ander Herrera laughs off jokes he still had ‘Hazard in his pocket’
Ander Herrera has admitted he was pleased with his performance after responding to claims he still has Chelsea’s star man Eden Hazard in his back pocket.
The dependable, ever-improving Spaniard scored one, assisted the other and marked star turn Hazard out of the game at Old Trafford earlier this month as Manchester United recorded a 2-0 victory over the Premier League title favourites.
Antonio Conte’s men failed to muster so much as a shot on target as United secured a win far more comprehensive than the 2-0 scoreline suggests, with Herrera producing a man-of-the-match display.
Asked if the Belgian was still in his pocket, Herrera laughed then said: “Hazard, for me, has been the best player of the season so far.
“It was not a very easy job for me but I think I did it right.
“Also the team was very compact so that made it more easy for me. But now I know everyone is talking about it, but I want to forget it.
“I want to think about today winning, hopefully Thursday the same [against Manchester City] and we have (the) Europa League (semi-final).
“The Europa League is a competition that makes me very excited because I lost the final three or four years ago and I want to take that knife from my back.
“So hopefully we can fight for the that title as well, but I know very good (semi-final opponents) Celta Vigo. They are a very difficult team.”