Frank Lampard has described Eden Hazard as Chelsea's most important player and says the Belgian will be crucial if Manchester City can be caught in the title race.
The Belgian scored the only goal as the Blues ran out 1-0 winners at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday evening and closed the gap on third-placed Tottenham in the Premier League standings to just one point.
Lampard played alongside Hazard for his final two years at Stamford Bridge and says the Belgian has always impressed but now boast the most talent in Antonio Conte's squad.
“From the moment he came to Chelsea his talent was on show in training, in games," he told BT Sport. "He’s developed as a player. I spoke before about him being so pivotal.
“He came quite fresh, quite young. Now he’s at that point of his career when he has to be the dominant player in that Chelsea team and make things happen, and he’s doing it.
“We’re talking about the top teams trying to stay with the Man Citys, who are flying. You need your best players. He’s just a great talent."
He added: "For a club like Chelsea, it can’t be reliant on one player for sure. And I don’t wanna talk down Pedro and Willian who had fantastic seasons last year.
"A lot of players in that team are responsible for what Chelsea have done in the last season. But, for moments of magic, for little clips of skill ... he won the game for Chelsea."
