Cahill praises 'special' Chelsea team-mate Hazard

Aug 23, 2012 1:40:00 AM

The England defender has been impressed with the new signing after the Belgian international inspired the Blues' late comeback against Reading at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea defender Gary Cahill has heaped praise on new signing Eden Hazard, after the Belgian international inspired the Blues' comeback against Reading at Stamford Bridge.

The 21-year-old was in imperious form against Wigan at the weekend and continued from where he left off, playing a key part in three of the four goals the Blues scored.

And Cahill, who felt he was at fault for Reading's opener, singled out the £32 million man after inspiring their comeback.

"I thought [Hazard] was absolutely fantastic tonight," Cahill told Sky Sports News.

"The other day against Wigan obviously he was great again but tonight I thought he was special."

Cahill grabbed the equalising goal when the Blues were 2-1 down, but also feels he took a portion of the blame for Reading's opener as Pavel Pogrebnyak beat him to head home.

"It was a superb cross and a great header, but I've got to be tighter," Cahill stated.

"It happened again about five or 10 minutes later and I got across, I should have done that first time but I'll learn from that. I thought we kept plugging away even though we were 2-1 down and there were some great performances out there.

"I felt we kept pushing and looked dangerous. We created quite a lot, took our goals well and it could have been more. They made it hard for us, they did really well, especially in the first-half."

Cahill missed Euro 2012 after sustaining a fractured jaw in the 1-0 friendly win over Belgium at Wembley, and also missed out on Saturday's opener at the expense of David Luiz. The Brazilian was unavailable for selection tonight due to a knee injury, and Cahill insists that everyone will have a part to play this year, much like last season.

He continued: "I think we'll all play our part, you saw that towards the end of last season. The rotation of the squad, there will be players in and out."

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