Roy Keane puts Eden Hazard in his place after he fails in his latest battle with Lionel Messi

Kevin Palmer 16 March 2018

Roy Keane believes Chelsea talisman Eden Hazard cannot be compared to the best players in the game, after his latest disappointing performance against Barcelona at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night.

Hazard failed to shine on a night when Lionel Messi’s two goals eased Barca into the quarter-finals, with Chelsea’s No.10 failing to live up to his billing once again.

The Belgian star has often suggested he wants to join the likes of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo among the game’s elite stars, but former Manchester United skipper Keane suggests he will never reach such lofty heights.

“On any given day, he can be very very good, but there are just too many off days,” believes Keane. “If you are trying to compare him to the likes of Messi, he is way behind him.

“That is the beauty of Messi and Ronaldo. They always seem to be fit. They play 50-60 games a season and they produce week-in, week-out. These other lads that we talk about don’t. It’s as simple as that.”

Keane was quick to pour glowing praise on Messi after he took his Champions League goal tally past the 100 mark amid another magical display from the Argentine superstar.

“If Messi was playing for Chelsea, they would have won it. He has beaten a lot of teams on his own over the last few years and he was the difference again. The guy is a genius,” he added.

“If you are to get a result against Barcelona, you need a little bit of luck, which they didn’t have, and you also need your goalkeeper to play weel. They didn’t have either, so it was a tough night for them.

“There is a big few months coming up for Chelsea now. You look at the manager’s body language over the last few months and clearly there is problems. Big few months coming up for Conte. Can they win the FA Cup, can they finish in the top four? Maybe two years is the limit for a manager at Chelsea.