Mbappe deserves Ballon d'Or: Eden Hazard

Chelsea are well aware of what must be done to clinch the Premier League title but will also be looking cautiously over their shoulders as Tottenham Hotspur continue their relentless pursuit of the leaders, midfielder Eden Hazard has said.

Chelsea, who are seven points clear at the top of the table, beat 15th-placed Bournemouth 3-1 on Saturday to maintain their lead over second-placed Tottenham, who are on a six-game winning run in the league.

"They are waiting for us to lose points but if we do the job we will be champions in the end," Hazard told the club website.

"We have to be ready because in England you never know, you can lose points against every team," he added.

"But we are professional, we know what to do if we want to be champion. When we see Tottenham, everything is not done. It is one step closer but we have seven games left to play and we have to be ready for everything."

Tottenham cut the lead at the top following Chelsea's loss to Crystal Palace earlier this month but Antonio Conte's men have responded strongly with back-to-back victories over Manchester City and Bournemouth.

Chelsea travel to fifth-placed Manchester United on Sunday and will be hoping to get their first win at Old Trafford since 2013.

France are now only one step away from the World Cup trophy and Kylian Mbappe said that he could not have been imagined that France would make it to the final even in his wildest dreams.  The French forward, at just the age of 19 is being considered as a contender for the coveted Ballon d’or but he reiterated that individual award does not interest him as his eyes are set on winning the ultimate prize – the World Cup.

“Even in my wildest dreams I didn't imagine this,” The 19-year-old explained in his post-match press conference as per Marca.

“I'm a dreamer and this is the dream of a lifetime.There is still one more step to take, but we're proud of what we've done.” the Paris Saint-Germain wonder kid added.

The French president Emmanuel Macron enjoyed the match and he went to France’s dressing room to celebrate with the players and staffs after the match. The presidentgave a triumphant thumbs-up in the stadium after Samuel Umtitihad given France a 1-0 lead.

“In the changing room, [coach] Didier Deschamps was happy. We were all happy, all hugging, President Emmanuel Macron came to see us in the dressing room.The whole country is with us. We're all in this together.” The sensational forward added.

“Not skipping the hard work and fighting for the group is one of my qualities -- if I can help by running or shouting, then I will do it said. I want to win the World Cup -- the Ballon d'Or is not my problem.” he concluded.

Mbappe, who has scored three goals so far, has been in blistering form as his pace has caught most opponents off-guard in the Russia World Cup.

Eden Hazard believes he has been given more freedom to score goals after being pushed to a central attacking role under Chelsea manager Antonio Conte.

The 25-year-old Belgian winger struck four goals in the Premier League last season but has already racked up three after the opening eight league games this campaign, with Conte opting for a wing-back formation in recent games.

"When you are strong defensively you bring confidence to all the team, and it is more easy to score goals," Hazard, who scored a goal in Saturday's 3-0 hammering of champions Leicester City, told Chelsea's website (www.chelseafc.com).

Hazard also scored back-to-back goals for his country in World Cup qualifying wins over Gibraltar and Bosnia earlier this month.

"I play more inside the pitch and we play also this system in the national team. For the strikers, we have more freedom, and even when we lose the ball if we press together we can get it back, and it is a good system for Chelsea," he added.

Starting line-ups for the World Cup third place playoff between Belgium and England in Saint Petersburg on Saturday (1400 GMT kick-off):

Belgium (3-4-3)

Thibaut Courtois; Toby Alderweireld, Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen; Thomas Meunier, Axel Witsel, Youri Tielemans, Nacer Chadli; Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard (capt)

Coach: Roberto Martinez (ESP)

England (3-5-2)

Jordan Pickford; Phil Jones, John Stones, Harry Maguire; Kieran Trippier, Eric Dier, Fabian Delph, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Danny Rose; Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane (capt)

Coach: Gareth Southgate (ENG)

Referee: Alireza Faghani (IRI)

Eden Hazard says Belgium want to go all the way to the World Cup final after the Red Devils threw down a marker to group rivals England with a 5-2 thrashing of Tunisia on Saturday.

Having lost to Argentina in the quarterfinals at the last World Cup, Hazard says Belgium are a better team than four years ago and are targeting the final in Russia.

"We are a good team, we want to reach the final and we are stronger than four years ago," said the Chelsea star and Belgium captain who capped a man-of-the-match performance with two goals against Tunisia on Saturday.

"The match was easy because we scored after five minutes and knew Tunisia would leave spaces as they needed to win, making it easier for us."

Belgium ran riot to top Group G as Romelu Lukaku scored twice to draw level with Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of the World Cup goalscoring charts with four goals two a double strike.

Michy Batshuayi came off the bench to grab Belgium's fifth.

The win puts the Red Devils on the brink of the last 16 and they face England in their final group game, for which coach Roberto Martinez said he would field a much-changed side.

"It will be major changes against England," Martinez told reporters after Saturday's game.

Martinez insisted he was giving no thought to whether it might be better to finish second rather than top the group, which carries a risk of running into Brazil or Germany in the quarter-finals.

"Football has got a strange knack of punishing you when you don't treat things professionally," he said.

"Today we're allowed to celebrate," he said of the first time the country had scored five goals in a World Cup match. "The whole of Belgium should celebrate."

Tunisia coach Nabil Maaloul called for far-reaching changes in his country so they can compete at future World Cups after their "ridiculous" hammering.

"As expected, it was a very difficult match. Ever since we were drawn in this group we knew Belgium were going to be a tough opponent," said the 56-year-old Maaloul. "We would like to apologise to the Tunisian fans who were numerous in the stadium today. However, we did our best and we will try to improve our performance in the future."

"We must change our entire lifestyle in our country because it isn't in line with high-level football," he said. "I am not giving up, but we need to wait at least two generations to get the necessary fitness and strength. I think we are far, far from the needed level.

"We need players who are professional from the age of 13 or 14 to improve the standard."

After losing their opening World Cup match to England, Tunisia had needed to win in Moscow to keep their dream alive, which invited Belgium's star-studded forwards to attack.

"We were a bit ridiculous from the way we played and the score of 5-2, for me, is a bit on the low side," admitted the Tunisia boss.

"We did OK in possession but Belgium have players who can make the difference at any moment, like Hazard or Lukaku."