- Chelsea ran riot in their clash with Stoke City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday
- Conte left Hazard on the bench, perhaps with Arsenal in mind
- Many impressed with what they saw from Chelsea without Belgian
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Chelsea ace Eden Hazard was dropped to the bench on Saturday, and while his teammates ran riot against Stoke City, it led to an interesting reaction.
The Belgian international didn’t feature in the starting line-up against the Potters, most likely given Antonio Conte’s side face Arsenal next Wednesday in a busy period of the season.
In turn, the Italian tactician would have been delighted that his players swept aside Stoke in the first half at Stamford Bridge without him, allowing him to get some rest and prepare for the Gunners.
However, amid ongoing speculation of interest from Real Madrid, as noted by The Sun, there was also concern that the decision may have had something to do with that.
That seems unlikely, but it still led to a contentious reaction on Twitter from Chelsea fans and neutrals who discussed the 26-year-old’s future and role in the side, as seen below with some more sarcastic responses thrown in too.
Many seem convinced that in his absence others have stepped up and it doesn’t appear as though they would be massively disappointed if he were to leave for Madrid.
Naturally, this is just a small sample size and the large majority of Chelsea fans will surely be desperate for him to stay, but they seem to be doing fine without him against a struggling Stoke side.