Chelsea winger Eden Hazard has refused to rule his side out of the Premier League title race following their 1-0 victory over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium this evening.
Hazard scored the only goal of the game as the champions climbed back into the top four of the table, although they remain nine points adrift of leaders Manchester City, who have dropped just two points from their opening 10 games.
Chelsea's victory on the south coast also saw them record a first clean sheet in their last seven matches, and Hazard talked up the importance of their defensive performance for goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
"[It was a] very good goal, important also. When you play this kind of game you just need to win. We created a lot of chances... we didn't score, that's the problem, but we have three points and we move on," he told reporters.
"I think Thibaut needed this [result] for the confidence, but I think all the team deserve this, we did well defensively, offensively also.
"The season is long, you never know what can happen. They are top and play well with a lot of goals... but we have a lot of games to play, we will see at the end of the season."
Hazard has now scored five goals in his five Premier League appearances against Bournemouth.
Barney Corkhill
