Mourinho explains why he left Hazard out of the main squad

`I had to leave Hazard out of the starting lineup because we had to concede a lot of goals recently. We need to defend better from a distance. We want Chelsea’s true midfielders to only care about

Despite his heroic status last season, Hazard still lost his place when Mourinho needed to make adjustments to help Chelsea escape the crisis.

Eden Hazard was Chelsea’s irreplaceable player in their campaign to conquer the Premier League title last season.

But because of the club’s overall performance during the current period of poor performance, coach Jose Mourinho still decided to leave Eden Hazard on the bench for most of the 2-0 win against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.

He even warned that the star winger needed to adjust his playing style for the whole team or have to get used to life on the bench.

Mourinho further explained: `When the main team has Willian and Pedro, our midfielders no longer have to move left or right. Because they know for sure that those parts are already shouldered and checked.

`I will continue to do the same with Hazard, so that he has to improve his play in a way that is good for Chelsea. If he wants to return to the first team, he must try to do a better job supporting the defense, like

Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa

Hazard’s current situation may make Real Madrid more active in their efforts to lure him to the Bernabeu.

But Mourinho soon warned: `I told the players that now is not the time to think about themselves or their personal situations, nor is it the time to complain or be selfish in their thinking.`

Before Saturday night’s match, Eden Hazard was named in the starting lineup for 47 consecutive matches.