3 key differences between Eden Hazard and Neymar Jr
Eden Hazard and Neymar are arguably the best-left wingers in the game right now. They both are devastating in one on one situations and a nightmare to play against. They are said to be the prime candidates for Ballon d'Or after the era of Messi and Ronaldo. It would be fair to say that they would make any team better.
Despite playing in the same position they are very different players. They have completely different styles to how they play the game. In this article, we look at three key differences between Neymar and Hazard.
1. Dribbling
In simple terms, Hazard is similar to Messi in dribbling and Neymar is similar to a younger Cristiano Ronaldo or Ronaldinho.
Eden Hazard relies on his change of pace and low centre of gravity to get past players. He uses his body as a shield between him and the ball. He is physical yet graceful and glides past defenders as if they were not there.
Eden rarely uses tricks or skills to get past defenders. He does enjoy doing a rabona but aside that we rarely see him use a step-over. His style is easy on the eye and very effective.
Neymar, on the other hand, is known for his skills and tricks. He is truly Brazilian which can be seen in his stepovers, rainbow flicks and elastics. Neymar, like Hazard, is also very quick with the ball but he relies more on quick feet to get past players.
He may not glide past players like Hazard but he weaves a way around them. It may seem that Neymar is showboating at times but it is effective and that's what matters in football.
Both their dribbling styles are really different but one cannot argue that they are two of the most exciting players to watch in world football. But as you can expect, Eden has a better success rate than Neymar as he doesn't use too many tricks or skills.