Football: Benzema brilliance inspires Real, Fati lights up Barca

MADRID, Spain -- Karim Benzema scored twice for Real Madrid in a 3-2 win against Levante with Eden Hazard making his La Liga debut while later Barcelona breezed to a 5-2 win against Valencia on Saturday with more magic from 16-year-old Ansu Fati.

Benzema's goals came just six minutes apart in the first half at a wet Santiago Bernabeu, before Casemiro put Real 3-0 up.

However Levante, who had won their previous two outings, made a fight of it in the second half as they pulled goals back through Borja Mayoral and Gonzalo Melero.

"The second half was more difficult for us, but the overall feeling was positive," said coach Zinedine Zidane, whose team had drawn their previous two games.

"We have got the three points and we were incredible in the first half, the way we played, the goals, the commitment. We just need to stay focused for the full 90 minutes."

Hazard also came off the bench for the final half-hour to make his first La Liga appearance after a thigh injury had interrupted the start of his Real career following his 100 million-euro ($110 million) move from Chelsea.

The Belgian could now start when Real go to Paris Saint-Germain for their opening Champions League game on Wednesday.

"I am happy for him," said Zidane. "He will do us good. He is not ready yet though -- he has only trained four times with the team. But when everyone is fit, when we have our rhythm, we will hurt teams."

Gareth Bale will also be available to face PSG after suspension kept him out here, but Sergio Ramos will be unable to play because of a European ban.

Zidane was also without the injured Luka Modric here. However, as well as Hazard, fellow summer signing Eder Militao came off the bench in the second half and the former Porto defender could start in Paris.

- Fati scores again -

Real would have won by a greater margin here had it not been for some inspired goalkeeping from Aitor Fernandez, who produced a stunning one-handed stop to keep out a Benzema shot midway through the first half.

Atletico Madrid retained their place at the top of the table, but only by one point from Real Madrid after their first defeat of the season when they lost 2-0 at Real Sociedad at the Basque club's newly refurbished stadium.

Later, former Real Madrid assistant coach Albert Celades replaced sacked Marcelino Garcia Toral as boss of Valencia who were routed 5-2 at Barcelona.

With Lionel Messi still out and watching from the stands it was left to Fati, the teenager from Guinea-Bissau, to take the plaudits.

Fati, who became the third youngest La Liga scorer when he came off the bench to net in a 2-2 draw at Osasuna this month, scored again in the second minute, before providing the assist for Frenkie de Jong's 7th minute goal.

The teenager earned his standing ovation from the Camp Nou crowd when he came off after an hour.

"It's not usual that on his first touch he scores, and on his second he sets up a goal," said Barca coach Ernesto Valverde.

"To get used to being a Barca player is work for anyone, even more so for a boy so young, but he's a balanced kid, he strikes me as being at ease."

Kevin Gameiro got Valencia off the mark but a brace from the fit again Luis Suarez after a contribution from Gerard Pique meant Max Gomez's injury time second for the visitors was purely academic.

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Magnificent Hazard ends Liverpool's 100 percent start

LONDON - The brilliance of Chelsea's Eden Hazard ended Liverpool's 100 percent start to the season as Maurizio Sarri's side enjoyed a 2-1 win at Anfield in the League Cup third round on Wednesday.

Liverpool have started with six wins in the Premier League and a victory in the Champions League but they were knocked out by a superb solo goal from Hazard in the 85th minute.

Former Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge, who had earlier missed an open goal, put Liverpool in front in the 58th minute with an acrobatic volley after Willy Caballero parried out Naby Keita's drive.

Emerson levelled for Chelsea in the 79th, slotting home after Simon Mignolet parried out a Ross Barkley header from a free kick whipped in by Hazard.

The goal was reviewed by VAR but ruled as fair although Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp felt it should have been disallowed for offside.

Sturridge then struck the bar with a fine effort from distance but it was Chelsea who struck the decisive blow.

Belgian forward Hazard, a 56th-minute substitute, won the game with a devastating finish after a powerful run in from the flank, weaving past two Liverpool defenders behind before firing into the far corner.

"It's a fantastic goal. Not only the beauty of it but for the time he scored it," Chelsea assistant manager Gianfranco Zola said.

"Not only is he one of the best in the Premier League - if not the best - but he is one of the best in Europe and the world.

"In my opinion we haven't seen the best of him yet. He's remarkable," he added.

The two teams face each other at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in the Premier League.

Elsewhere, West Ham United hammered fourth tier (League Two) Macclesfield Town 8-0 for their biggest win since 1983.

Grady Diangana and Robert Snodgrass both scored twice as West Ham ripped apart the Cheshire side who are bottom of League Two without a win this season.

In an all-Premier League tie, Tottenham Hotspur progressed to the last 16 by beating Watford 4-2 on penalties after the game, played in Milton Keynes, ended 2-2.

Isaac Success had given Watford the lead in the 46th minute but Spurs looked to have grabbed the win thanks to a Dele Alli penalty in the 82nd minute and Erik Lamela's goal four minutes later.

But Etienne Capoue's 89th-minute drive took the game to penalties, only for Capoue and Domingos Quina to fail to convert their spot-kicks and Alli wrapped up victory for Spurs.

Danny Welbeck scored twice as Arsenal beat Championship Brentford 3-1.

After the former Manchester United striker put the Gunners 2-0 up, Alan Judge brought Brentford back into the game but Alexandre Lacazette made sure of the win for Arsenal.

In an all-Championship match, Nottingham Forest beat Stoke City 3-2 despite having Diogo Goncalves sent off 13 minutes from time.

(Reporting by Simon Evans, editing by Ed Osmond)

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Chelsea beat Mourinho's 10-man United to reach Cup semis

LONDON - Chelsea manager Antonio Conte got the upper hand on Jose Mourinho for the second time this season as his double-chasing side beat 10-man Manchester United 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to reach the FA Cup semi-finals on Monday.

N'Golo Kante's precise 51st minute strike was enough for Conte's team to break United's hold on the Cup after the visitors had Ander Herrera sent off after 35 minutes for a second yellow card -- both for fouls on Eden Hazard.

Premier League leaders' Chelsea's reward is a Wembley clash with Tottenham Hotspur next month, while the other semi-final will be between Arsenal and Manchester City.

United, who face a Europa League last 16 tie on Thursday against Russian side Rostov, were missing the suspended Zlatan Ibrahimovic and injured Wayne Rooney and offered little threat once Kante had beaten David de Gea with a precise low shot.

Mourinho was spared the humiliation of the 4-0 thrashing his old club dished out in October's league meeting -- his first return to Stamford Bridge since being sacked last season -- but his United side were again found wanting.

Mourinho's frustration boiled over at times and the Portuguese and Italian Conte had to be separated after an angry exchange shortly after Herrera's sending off.

"The game was completely under control (before the red card)," Mourinho, whose players targeted Hazard for especially close attention, told reporters. "They couldn't find what is their game. I cannot be more proud of the players."

Chelsea, chasing the Premier League/FA Cup double they last achieved in 2010, dominated possession and could have scored more goals, though holders United had their moments.

LIVEWIRE HAZARD

Much was made of United's lack of striking options ahead of the game but Mourinho's somewhat depleted side started in confident fashion and Henrikh Mkhitaryan fired just wide in the 13th minute following a strong run by Rashford.

That escape sparked Chelsea into life though, particularly Hazard who was soon skipping his way past defenders to force De Gea into a great save from his deflected shot.

United's keeper then did equally well to claw out Nemanja Matic's low shot from the resulting corner.

Herrera then took matters into his own hands with two ill-judged tackles on Hazard, both punished with yellow cards by referee Michael Oliver.

Mourinho reacted to the dismissal by hauling off Mkhitaryan and sending on the combative Marouane Fellaini.

It was a tactic designed to frustrate Chelsea but the irrepressible Kante opened them up six minutes after the break, delivering a right-foot shot of unerring accuracy past De Gea.

Diego Costa should have made it 2-0 but United should have levelled when the galloping Rashford left David Luiz and Gary Cahill trailing but shot straight at Thibaut Courtois.

Chelsea were relatively untroubled, though, as they set up a juicy-looking semi-final against London rivals Spurs -- the last team to beat them in any competition.

"We must be pleased because to arrive in the semi-finals and play at Wembley gives us great satisfaction," Conte said. "It's another tough game against a strong team." (Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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Chelsea crush Arsenal, Liverpool lose in Premier League

LONDON - Chelsea moved another step towards regaining the Premier League title with a 3-1 drubbing of Arsenal in the table-topping London derby at Stamford Bridge on Saturday as only Tottenham Hotspur maintained their distant pursuit of the leaders.

Antonio Conte's side moved 12 points clear of Arsenal with a performance decorated by one of the goals of the season, a dazzling individual effort from Eden Hazard starting from near the halfway line.

The 2015 champions' command at the top of the table was strengthened further with fourth-placed Liverpool falling 13 points adrift after their wretched 2017 continued with a shock 2-0 defeat at resurgent Hull City.

Only second-placed Spurs, the one team to have defeated Chelsea in their last 17 matches in all competitions, appear up for the fight, reducing the gap at the top to nine points with their 1-0 win over Middlesbrough in the day's late match.


Hull's win over Liverpool saw them clamber up one place to 18th in the relegation zone while another startling result featured Crystal Palace, who lost 4-0 at home to bottom club Sunderland, with all the goals coming in the first half.

Conte was a satisfied man as he watched Chelsea avenge their worst defeat of the season in September at the Emirates, the 3-0 reverse that prompted him to change their tactical approach.

The Blues have never looked back since and an early header from Marcos Alonso, the dazzling second-half solo goal from Hazard and a poor clearance from Petr Cech that allowed Cesc Fabregas to chip into an unguarded net in the dying minutes sealed their revenge.

Hazard's goal was, by his own admission, "beautiful". The Belgian picked up the ball just inside his own half, swerved away from Laurent Koscielny, outmuscled Francis Coquelin and turned Koscielny inside out again before beating Cech from close range.

Olivier Giroud earned a stoppage-time consolation goal but a fourth defeat in nine league matches effectively ended Arsenal's title hopes for another season as they now lie third on 47 points, after 24 games, to Chelsea's 59.

"It was an important game. I consider Arsenal one of the six teams that can fight for the title until the end of the season. To put them 12 points behind is very important for us," said Conte, after presiding over a 14th home win in 15 games at Stamford Bridge.

"In every session they show me great attitude and great will to fight and win this league."

Liverpool's defeat looked to have ended their challenge too as Juergen Klopp's men succumbed to goals from Hull's on-loan Senegalese strikers, Alfred N'Diaye and Oumar Niasse.

It continued a woeful run for the Reds in 2017, who have won just once in their last 10 games, leaving a baffled Klopp to suggest their slump made "no sense".

Tottenham, though, appear to continue to believe as they stretched their unbeaten run in all competitions to 14 games and hit the half-century of points, with Harry Kane's second-half penalty earning victory in a game they dominated but made heavy weather of sealing at White Hart Lane.

Sunderland's Jermain Defoe scored twice in first-half stoppage time as he turned Sam Allardyce's reunion with his former club into a nightmare, the Palace boss having to watch his side ship three goals in six minutes before the break.

Sunderland remain bottom on 19 points but now have the same tally as Palace, one behind Hull, who are making dramatic strides under new Portuguese boss Marco Silva.

Everton, unbeaten in the league since Christmas, continued their excellent run with Romelu Lukaku scoring four in their helter-skelter 6-3 win over Bournemouth, his first coming after just 30 seconds to equal the fastest in the League this season.

The Belgian international striker is now the league's leading marksman with 16 goals with Chelsea's Costa and Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez on 15 and Kane and Defoe on 14 along with Manchester United's Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

(Reporting by Ian Chadband, editing by Neil Robinson)

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PREMIER LEAGUE: Chelsea storm to summit after Man City stumble

LONDON, United Kingdom -- Eden Hazard scored twice as Chelsea exploited a slip-up by Manchester City to claim top spot in the Premier League by stylishly crushing Everton 5-0 on Saturday.

Marten de Roon's stoppage-time equalizer earned Middlesbrough a 1-1 draw at City and Antonio Conte's Chelsea took advantage to move a point clear of Pep Guardiola's side at the summit.

"When you win in this way it's fantastic because we played good football with good intensity," Conte told BT Sport.

"All the players played in the right way with and without the ball. We created many chances to score and also it's the fifth clean sheet in a row, which is fantastic.

"It is fantastic to be top of the league."

Arsenal and Liverpool could also surpass City before the weekend is out, the former tackling Tottenham Hotspur in Sunday's North London derby and the latter entertaining Watford.

Elsewhere, bottom club Sunderland ended their wait for a first win of the season at the 11th attempt by coming from behind to win 2-1 at Bournemouth despite having Steven Pienaar sent off.

At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea produced one of their most scintillating performances in recent memory as the 2014-15 champions made it five straight wins without conceding a goal.

Hazard opened the scoring in the 19th minute, drifting in from the left to drill a shot into the bottom-right corner, and a minute later Pedro Rodriguez teed up Marcos Alonso for the hosts' second.

Diego Costa made it 3-0 three minutes before half-time, slamming home at the back post after Nemanja Matic flicked on Hazard's corner to bring up his ninth goal of the campaign.

Chelsea's fourth goal was a jewel, Pedro returning Hazard's pass with a sweet back-heel and the Belgian dancing into the box from the right before lashing home with his left foot.

Pedro volleyed in the fifth, in the 65th minute, after Everton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg parried a shot from Hazard.

City went into their game on the back of a stirring 3-1 Champions League win over Barcelona and Boro's former Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes looked determined to restore Catalan pride at the Etihad Stadium.

He saved brilliantly from Sergio Aguero and David Silva, only for Aguero to put the hosts ahead in the 43rd minute by converting Kevin De Bruyne's sumptuous cross for his 150th goal in 223 City appearances.

- Barnes late show -

Boro showed more attacking intent in the second half, former City striker Alvaro Negredo almost catching out Claudio Bravo with an audacious lob from his own half before Bravo saved smartly from Adam Forshaw.

After Aguero had squandered a late chance, Dutch midfielder De Roon met George Friend's deep cross with a thumping header to earn Boro a dramatic point.

"We did absolutely everything to win the game. It is a pity," said Guardiola, whose side have drawn their last three home league games 1-1 following previous stalemates against Everton and Southampton.

"It is a miss because we have dropped six points in the last three home games, but we are still there. We have to move forward."

Sunderland remain bottom, below Swansea City on goal difference, but manager David Moyes belatedly has a victory to his name following a hard-fought success at Bournemouth's Vitality Stadium.

After Adam Smith had teed up Dan Gosling to bundle in an 11th-minute opener for Bournemouth, Victor Anichebe equalised with his first Sunderland goal.

Pienaar was sent off just before the hour after receiving a second yellow card for a lunge on Junior Stanislas, but Jermain Defoe netted a 74th-minute winner from the spot after Smith felled Anichebe.

"It is a big relief," Moyes told Sky Sports. "We owed the supporters the victory. They have kept with us.

"We needed a win, but it is only one. We need a few more."

There was late drama at Turf Moor as Burnley withstood a Crystal Palace fightback to prevail 3-2 courtesy of Ashley Barnes's 94th-minute strike.

Sam Vokes and Johann Berg Gundmundsson put Burnley 2-0 up, only for Palace to hit back through second-half goals by substitute Connor Wickham and Christian Benteke.

But in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Gudmundsson crossed for Barnes to fire home and condemn Palace -- who later hit the post through Andros Townsend -- to a fourth straight defeat.

Stoke City drew 1-1 at West Ham United, Bojan Krkic exploiting an error by home goalkeeper Adrian to equalise in the 75th minute after a Glenn Whelan own goal had put the hosts ahead.

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PREMIER LEAGUE: Misery for Manchester as United thrashed and City draw

LONDON, United Kingdom -- Manchester's two Premier League clubs managed just a point between them on Sunday as Manchester United suffered a chastening 4-0 defeat by Chelsea on manager Jose Mourinho's return to Stamford Bridge and leaders Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Southampton.

Chelsea's Pedro Rodriguez opened the scoring after just 30 seconds and the Blues were on their way, with Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and N'Golo Kante adding to the agony for Mourinho, who won seven major titles in two spell as the London club's manager.

Victory saw Antonio Conte's side move up into fourth place, just a point behind the top three of City, Arsenal and Liverpool.

By contrast, defeat left United seventh and five points adrift of the top four finish they need to qualify for the Champions League after missing out on European club football's elite competition this season -- a failure that led the Old Trafford club to replace former manager Louis van Gaal with Mourinho.

"You come with a strategy. You cannot concede a goal in the way we did," Mourinho told Sky Sports. "We made incredible defensive mistakes, individual mistakes, and you pay for that."

After the final whistle, Mourinho whispered in the ear of Chelsea manager Antonio Conte.

Conte had urged home fans to make more noise after Kante made it 4-0 in the 70th minute.

But Mourinho refused to reveal what he had told the Italian, saying: "My words were with Antonio Conte were for him, not for you."

Conte was equally guarded, telling the BBC: "When there is a private conversation it is right to remain private, I have great respect for Jose, he is a great manager and he won a lot here."

As for the match itself Conte, in a separate interview with Sky Sports, said: "I am pleased with the performance, we started well, moved the ball quickly, created chances to score the goal."

At Eastlands, City suffered a fifth consecutive match without a victory although the point gained took Pep Guardiola's side back to the top of the table

Following their 4-0 midweek Champions League loss away to Barcelona, City were behind in the 27th minute when central defender John Stones's careless pass across the face of goal was seized on by Saints striker Nathan Redmond.

"I was anticipating it and it was just about keeping a cool head and putting the chance away," said Redmond.

The hosts were much improved in the second half and Kelechi Iheanacho equalised in the 55th minute when he finished a neat move involving Fernandinho and Leroy Sane from close range.

"The second half was much better," said Guardiola. "Of course our mistake is always complicated. The way I want to play is not to pass to their striker."

Southampton manager Claude Puel was pleased by the way his side recovered from their 1-0 Europa League loss away to Inter Milan.

"We played with just two days recovery after the Inter Milan match, which is difficult and we finished the game tired," said Puel. "It is a good point."

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PREMIER LEAGUE: Chelsea take pole position, Arsenal end winless run

LONDON, United Kingdom -- Chelsea swept to the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 victory over Burnley, while Arsenal won 3-1 at Watford to ease the pressure on Arsene Wenger on Saturday.

After a dismal title defense last season, Chelsea look revitalized under new manager Antonio Conte and the Italian was able to celebrate his third successive win after the most emphatic display of his brief reign.

Second-placed Manchester United are behind Chelsea only on goals scored after Marcus Rashford struck deep into second-half stoppage time to snatch a 1-0 win at Hull City.

So disappointing last term, Eden Hazard has made a vibrant start to the new campaign and the Belgium midfielder put Chelsea ahead with a superb run and clinical finish from the edge of the penalty area in the ninth minute at Stamford Bridge.

Willian was back for Chelsea after recovering from a calf injury and the Brazil winger doubled their lead in the 41st minute before Nigeria's Victor Moses came off the bench to net the hosts' third in the 89th minute.

"It was a good performance. We have started very well this season but we must know we can improve," Conte said.

"Eden Hazard must be this decisive in every game and I'm pleased because I saw it today."

At Vicarage Road, Arsenal's first victory of the season, after losing to Liverpool and drawing with Leicester City, should silence Wenger's critics at least temporarily.

Failing to win their first two matches while struggling to make an impact in the transfer market had prompted some Arsenal fans to turn on Wenger again after many protested against him last season.

But there were no complaints as Arsenal took the lead in the ninth minute when Santi Cazorla stroked home a penalty after Nordin Amrabat elbowed Alexis Sanchez.

Chile forward Sanchez increased Arsenal's advantage five minutes before half-time with a deft touch over Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes.

Mesut Ozil was making his first start of the season after being rested following Euro 2016 and Arsenal's German playmaker made up for lost time with a headed goal in first-half stoppage time.

Watford's Roberto Pereyra reduced the deficit in the 57th minute, but the Hornets remain winless.

"I believe we shot ourselves in the foot in the first game and were under huge pressure. Today we had a good solid performance," Wenger said.


 - Efficient -

At the KCOM Stadium, United secured their third successive win under Mourinho as teenage striker Rashford finally turned their pressure into a tangible reward.

Frustrated by a resolute Hull defence, United won it in the second minute of stoppage time when substitute Rashford bagged his first goal of the season with a tap in from Wayne Rooney's low cross.

"We deserved it and in a more comfortable way. It is a great feeling when you win the points in the last minute," Mourinho said.

"The boys were very strong and the second half was like going to fight against a wall. We had an amazing mentality. We tried and tried and got it."

Leicester finally secured the first win of their title defence with a 2-1 success against Swansea City at the King Power Stadium.

Claudio Ranieri's side took the lead in the 32nd minute when Jamie Vardy finished off a typically efficient counter-attack from the champions and captain Wes Morgan lashed in the second in the 52nd minute.

Riyad Mahrez wasted a chance to make it three when the winger's penalty was saved by Lukasz Fabianski and there was more frustration for Leicester when goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel came off injured.

But Leroy Fer's 80th-minute goal for Swansea came too late to rescue a point for the visitors.

Danny Rose's 72nd-minute equaliser earned Tottenham Hotspur a 1-1 draw with Liverpool at White Hart Lane.

James Milner gave Liverpool a deserved lead with a penalty in the 43rd minute after Roberto Firmino went down under the slightest contact by Erik Lamela.

Everton won 1-0 against Stoke City at Goodison Park after Leighton Baines' penalty was pushed onto a post by Shay Given, only for the ball to rebound off the goalkeeper's head into the net for an own goal.

Southampton rescued a dramatic 1-1 draw against Sunderland as Jay Rodriguez's 85th-minute strike crept past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to cancel out Jermain Defoe's 80th-minute penalty at St Mary's.

Scott Dann's late leveller gave Crystal Palace a 1-1 draw against fellow strugglers Bournemouth at Selhurst Park.

Josh King had fired Bournemouth in an 11th-minute lead before Palace midfielder Yohan Cabaye missed a penalty.

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Belgium go through, Algeria enjoy record rout

CUIABA, Brazil - Highly-fancied Belgium booked a place in the World Cup last 16 with a late goal in a pedestrian 1-0 win over Russia leaving Algeria to light up Group H by routing South Korea 4-2 with a scoring spree on Sunday.

Belgium teenager Divock Origi became the youngest scorer so far at this tournament when he secured victory with a sharp shot into the roof of the Russia net from Eden Hazard's devastating run down the left and pinpoint cutback.

Algeria, who lost 2-1 to Belgium in their first match, tore the ramshackle Koreans apart, scoring the highest number of goals by an African team in a World Cup match.

It was the joint second-highest scoring match of the Brazil finals so far after France's 5-2 victory over Switzerland and equalled the Netherlands' 5-1 thumping of title holders Spain.

Islam Slimani and Rafik Halliche stunned the Koreans with two goals in two minutes and Abdelmoumene Djabou added a third to give Algeria a 3-0 lead at the interval.

They became the third team to score three first-half goals at this tournament after Germany in their 4-0 win over Portugal and France in their rout of the Swiss.

South Korea pulled one back through Son Heung-min, who turned to shoot between goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi's legs in the 50th minute.

Yacine Brahimi scored the goal that set the African record just after the hour and took the steam out of the Korea rally before Koo Ja-cheol pulled another goal back.

Algeria go into their last group match against Russia on Thursday in second place with three points, two more than both Fabio Capello's side and the Koreans, looking to reach the last 16 for the first time.

"We did analyse the strategies but the result was such that I could say it was not well done," South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo told reporters.

"The result speaks for itself... Since we conceded a lot of goals, there was a strategic mistake on our part."

'FITNESS THE KEY'

Once Belgium's celebrations are over, coach Marc Wilmots will need to reflect on their scoring difficulties if they are to confirm their status as dark horses in the knockout phase.

The match at the Maracana, which rivalled Nigeria's 0-0 draw with Iran as one of the worst in a tournament which has been mostly thrilling, was brightened up by Origi's late strike.

Capello was pleased with the performance of Russia, who host the next finals in 2018, saying they did not deserve to lose.

Wilmots was not too bothered with the manner of the victory and, along with Hazard, said fitness was the key.

"To advance in a tournament, you don't always need to be pretty. I believe that you need to be efficient," said Wilmots, who played for Belgium at three World Cup tournaments.

"There's something clear in football. Levels of physical fitness count in a World Cup." he added.

"I know how to make the difference. When I make the difference, I often do it at the end of the match and that shows that I am fresh," said Hazard.

(Reporting by Mike Collett and Bill Schomberg in Rio de Janeiro, Steve Keating and Angus MacSwan in Porto Alegre; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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