Eden Hazard and the four best all-round attacking seasons in the Premier League
Eden Hazard's retirement at the age of 32 might have been on the cards for a while, but it gave us all chance to reminisce about the career of a player who seemed to be able to turn it on whenever he wanted to, although that wasn't as often as many liked.
At his best the Belgian was a remarkable force for Chelsea and, statistically at least, he is among only four players to have scored at least 15 goals and pulled off 15 assists in the same Premier League season.
Others have tallied more of both of course, but to achieve both in the same campaign really is a staggering achievement, and so we've taken a look back at just how those players achieved their stellar seasons.
1992-93: Eric Cantona (Leeds and Manchester United) - 15 goals, 16 assists
Cantona made the controversial move from Leeds to Manchester United in November 1992 (PA)Alex Ferguson - we were still seven years away from the knighthood - lit a spark under his team when he brought in Eric Cantona in a controversial move from Leeds just three months in to the first ever Premier League season, and Manchester United took off from there.
The charismatic Frenchman proved to be the perfect addition to a bunch of forward options which featured the goals of Mark Hughes and Brian McClair and pace and trickery of Ryan Giggs, Lee Sharpe and Andrei Kanchelskis.
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Cantona had scored six goals in 13 games for Leeds before his move to Old Trafford, where he added nine more as United won their first league title in 26 years. His 16 assists across both clubs was five more than anyone else that season.
1994-95: Matt Le Tissier (Southampton) - 19 goals, 15 assists
Le Tissier contributed to 34 of Southampton's 61 goals in 1994-95 (Getty Images)Long before he became internet famous for something other than his long-range goals, Matt Le Tissier was the epitome of a one club man. And never was he more important in that role than in the 1994-95 season.
Southampton would finish 10th that season, a superb campaign for them and one that was built largely on the feats of Le Tissier, who had scored or assisted 34 of Saints' 61 league goals, often grabbing vital points in a season where Alan Ball's side went on a run of just one win in 16 games at one point.
They drew seven games in a row during that time, but a run of five Le Tissier-inspired wins from six games at the end of campaign pulled them out of any immediate danger, with the Guernsey-born talent establishing himself as one of the most watchable players in the Premier League in the 1990s.
2002-03: Thierry Henry (Arsenal) - 24 goals, 20 assists
Thierry Henry was at his clinical best in the 2002-03 (PA)Thierry Henry's 2002-03 has a strong argument to be the most individually impressive Premier League season ever. The likes of Erling Haaland and Mo Salah have scored more goals than the Frenchman's 24 of course, but Henry's 20 assists that same season stood alone as a record in the division until Kevin De Bruyne matched it in 2019-20.
Highlights of Henry's campaign include a blistering hat-trick at home to West Ham, an astonishing North London derby goal when he ran from the halfway line and a brace at home to Manchester United, who were nonetheless able to see off the Gunners' threat to take the title by five points.
2018-19: Eden Hazard (Chelsea) - 16 goals, 15 assists
Hazard had his best individual season at Chelsea in 2018-19 (Chelsea FC)The 2018-19 campaign began with a bang, and for a while it looked as though the previous season's centurion champions Manchester City, a Liverpool side en route to a Champions League win and Maurizio Sarri's Chelsea would be locked in a three-horse title race. But whereas the Blues weren't able to keep their form up, Eden Hazard would.
The Belgian was terrific as Chelsea remained unbeaten for the first 12 games of the campaign, hitting an early season hat-trick against Cardiff City among a raft of superb performances.
His 15 assists that season were more than any other player, while his 16 league goals contributed to a career-high overall total of 21, bringing the curtain down on his Chelsea career in fine style as the Blues won the Europa League.
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