Seattle Sounders 2 Chelsea 4Roberto Di Matteo has backed Eden Hazard to take England by storm after the £32million man scored on his Chelsea debut.
The Belgium international struck in the first half of Thursday morning’s comfortable win over Seattle Sounders as the Blues’ US tour got off to a triumphant start.
And Di Matteo admits he has seen enough from Hazard to assume the 21-year-old will become a Premier League star attraction.

Making his mark: Hazard got his first goal in Chelsea colours

Getting on the scoresheet: Eden Hazard scored on his Chelsea debut

‘He [Hazard] can have a great impact in the Premier League next season. He has great qualities and you can see that everyday in training,’ admitted the Chelsea boss.
Hazard’s countryman, Romelu Lukaku, also got his pre-season off to a blistering start with a first half, while summer signing from Werder Bremen Marko Marin also marked his Chelsea debut with a goal.
Di Matteo added: ‘It is good for Marko and Eden to score in their first game for the club and it was good to see they have a good understanding with their new team-mates.

Dream debut: Marko Marin scored on his first appearance for Chelsea

‘I’m pleased with the game and performance - it was everything we were looking for from our first pre-season game, it was a good work out.

‘I felt we showed good energy, the new players integrated in well and showed the talent coming through can be the future of this club.

 

The Italian manager named a strong starting line-up with Hazard, Marin, Branislav Ivanovic, David Luiz and John Obi Mikel all included.
And Marin nearly got his Chelsea career off the most perfect of starts inside the first minute, forcing Sounders keeper Bryan Meredith into a save, easily cutting inside Zach Scott before firing in a low shot.
But the tourists only had to wait two more minutes before scoring the first goal of their US visit when Lukaku unleashed an angled drive from 12 yards past Meredith after Josh McEachran - who started the game brightly - found the Belgium striker with a perfectly weighted pass.

In the goals: Romelu Lukaku goes round Seattle Sounders goalkeeper Bryan Meredith to score

Leo Gonzalez fired well over Hilario’s cross bar in the seventh minute after the Portuguese made a hash of dealing with former Fulham forward Eddie Johnson’s cross.
And Hazard made the Sounders winger pay for his wastefulness in the 11th minute.
Collecting a pass from Mikel, the Belgian cut inside the over-worked Scott before seeing his shot deflect off John Kennedy Hurtado and past Meredith to double Chelsea’s advantage.

All together now: The Chelsea players congratulate Lukaku after his goal

Seattle were gifted a way back into the clash when McEachran ruined his good early work with a woeful pass straight to the feet of an unmarked Fredy Montero, who duly slotted past Hilario from the 15 yards to half the deficit.

And the goal sparked a Sounders onslaught as Johnson and Alvaro Fernandes both missed excellent chances to equalise.

Safe hands: Chelsea goalkeeper Henrique Hilario makes a save on a shot from Alvaro Fernandez

However, Seattle found the leveller their dominance deserved and it was Montero again who found a way past Hilario in the 32nd minute with a low curling effort the Portuguese keeper really should have done better with.
But Marin capped off his promising first half display with his debut goal in the 40th minute - a virtual carbon copy of Hazard’s deflected strike as Chelsea regained their advantage.
The Germany international turned provider a minute before the break, setting up Lukaku who expertly rounded Meredith before firing into an empty net to make it 4-2.

Fan favorite: Frank Lampard signs autographs for supporters after the game

Di Matteo made seven changes at half-time. On came Jamal Blackman, Michael Essien, Ramires, Frank Lampard, Kevin De Bruyne, Gary Cahill and Sam Hutchinson.
The second half got off to a much slower start than the frenetic opening period - Seattle carving out the best chance of the opening 15 minutes with Andy Rose just failing to connect with Fernandez’s back-post cross.
The raft of substitutions clearly disrupted the flow of the game as both side’s struggled to replicate the cut and thrust of the opening 45 minutes.

Big turnout: Fans packed CenturyLink Field to see Chelsea beat the Seattle Sounders

De Bruyne looked lively in patches while the Blues endured an injury scare when Cahill was left clutching his face after a nasty looking collision, sparking fears of a recurrence of the broken jaw that ruled him out of Euro 2012.
Substitute Todd Kane stung the hands of replacement Sounders keeper Josh Ford with a long range effort in the 82nd minute - Chelsea’s first shot on target of the second half as the Blues strolled home to record their pre-season victory.