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Maurizio Sarri Urges Eden Hazard to Push Himself Beyond Familiar Boundaries to Become World's Best

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Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri has urged Eden Hazard to fully commit himself to honing his craft during training in order to unlock his true potential and become the best player in the world. 

The Blues star has sprung into life under the tutelage of Sarri so far this season having scored six goals in seven appearances - with only four starts under his belt - but, the Italian expects more from his "genius" playmaker. 

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Despite his wonder strike against Liverpool in midweek to secure Chelsea's passage into the next round of the League Cup, Sarri believes he is only averaging "70% of his potential" and there is still a long way to go to catch the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. 

"I think that he is for sure one of the best. But I am absolutely convinced that he can improve," Sarri said during his pre-match press conference, via the Mirror. 

“If he's able to improve during the training, maybe he will be able to use himself at 100% because, I think that we have seen only 70-80-85% of his potential. I think that if he is able to improve, he will be the best in the world.

“For example, with more intensity in training. I think (if he does that, he could be voted the best in the world). It's very difficult to compare him with other players. He is a genius, I think. It's very difficult. He's unique.

“From the physical point of view, from the mental point of view, because I think he has the opportunity to improve more. He can become the best player in the world. He's a genius. 

"Technically, I think, he is the best. And so I want him to be the best in the world. So I want to try and improve him. To try and give him the chance to arrive at his 100% because my feeling is, now, he's only at 80%. So I want to help him to be the best player in the world,” he added. 

Chelsea, currently in third place, will host Liverpool on Saturday evening in a bid to end Jurgen Klopp's side unbeaten start in the Premier League. 

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