Image Credits: Imago Images
Eden Hazard has come to the defence of Mohamed Salah after some criticism aimed the Egyptian’s way this season.
For the best part of a decade, Eden Hazard and Mohamed Salah have been locked together in one of the Premier League’s great bar‑room debates. Even after the Belgian’s retirement in 2023, the argument over who had the better peak never really went away.
Every dry spell for Salah or highlight reel from Hazard’s Chelsea days tends to reignite the discussion on social media and TV panels, with statistics, trophies and “eye test” all thrown into the mix.
In 2024/25, Salah produced one of the greatest attacking seasons the Premier League has ever seen, racking up 29 goals and 18 assists in 38 league games – 47 goal involvements, equalling the all‑time record for a single campaign. Twelve months on, he sits on 6 goals and 6 assists from 22 Premier League appearances in 2025/26, still useful output but less than a third of last season’s tally with the run‑in approaching.
The Egyptian has come under fire this season, often times unfairly, and now Eden Hazard – speaking on Canal+, has pointed out the important point that Liverpool as a whole have dropped in level this term and not just Salah:
“I think it’s a normal decline. As we get older, we are less physically strong,” he said.
“But it is also Liverpool that is less strong this season, not only Salah. When you have set the bar so high for so many years, it becomes almost impossible to live up to your own standards.”
“I was happy to see him score this weekend (against Fulham) He’s a great guy. We played together, against each other, we faced each other a lot. ”
Salah was controversially left out of the starting XI in the first leg against PSG and watched a 2-0 defeat unfold from the bench.
With Liverpool now needing something close to another famous Anfield European night to keep their season alive, it will be interesting to see if the 33-year-old is given a chance from the start on Tuesday night.
“Parfois, il faut être réaliste et se dire que c’est fini…” 🗣️
L’invité exceptionnel du CFC Eden Hazard revient sur le déclin auquel sont confrontés les joueurs en fin de carrière ! 🇧🇪
Pour écouter l’international belge en direct, rendez-vous sur CANAL+ ⬅️ pic.twitter.com/BGZQLA9uHH
— CANAL+ Foot (@CanalplusFoot) April 12, 2026
