BOURNEMOUTH -- Guus Hiddink says he let Eden Hazard play the full 90 minutes against Bournemouth on his return from injury because the Belgian "was enjoying it so much" on the pitch.
Hazard scored twice at the Vitality Stadium -- his first Premier League goals of a torrid season -- as Chelsea ran out 4-1 winners over Eddie Howe's men, with Pedro Rodriguez and Willian also finding the net either side of Bournemouth defender Tommy Elphick's first-half header.
At his prematch news conference on Friday, Hiddink suggested that Hazard would only be fit to play part of the match as he steps up his recovery from a lingering hip injury that had sidelined him for well over a month.
"We worked with Hazard for the last 10 days with the group, looking at the way he moved," Hiddink revealed. "He enjoyed it, he was light in his movement, so we said he'll start this game. We talked about 45 minutes or a bit more, but in the end he was enjoying it so much that he could do the whole game."
Hazard's inclusion in Hiddink's starting XI was the prematch focus but Cesc Fabregas was the star of the show at the Vitality Stadium, assisting three of Chelsea's four goals for Pedro, Hazard and Willian -- taking his Premier League tally for the season from four to seven in the space of a single afternoon.
Earlier this week Fabregas revealed that he "forgot how to play football" in the final months of Jose Mourinho's reign as Chelsea manager, and after the Bournemouth win Hiddink praised the Spaniard for showcasing the qualities that make him a star.
"He was enjoying himself very much and he's one of the few players who have this vision," Hiddink said of Fabregas. "When he's on the ball he knows that he can execute what he is thinking, and we know that when he's on the ball we can have running players who make his play effective.
"There have been other games [this season] but this was one of his best. I like it when these players get the attention but he can play like this when there's a balance of quality around him. That's what we coaches always have to look to do. When you have a good balance in the team they can execute what they're good at.
"We are very pleased with the [team] performance, especially in the second half. In the first half it was a very open game. We played a team that are very good tactically in building up [play]. They could have scored [more] in the first half and we could have scored also. It was a very open, entertaining game.
"We made some little changes to positions at half-time [switching Pedro to the left and Hazard to the right] and from there on we controlled [the game] and were very dominant in the second half.
"It was good to see that the players enjoyed playing and looking for the attack. It was good to see the discipline and see some players who were absent recently were enjoying themselves and scoring the goals."
Bournemouth missed the chance to secure mathematical Premier League safety, but the Cherries are surely already out of the dogfight with 41 points.
Boss Eddie Howe admitted his players are still learning "harsh lessons" about top-flight life after creating but squandering a host of first-half chances.
"I thought it was a really even game, especially in the first half where I thought we were terrific," said Howe. "The difference between the teams was how they finished their goals. We created enough chances in the first half, but didn't have that clinical edge that they did.
"I thought a number of their players were very good, their attitude was spot-on and that's why it ended up being a high-quality game. Fabregas, Hazard, Willian, [Diego] Costa, they all played well. We went near enough up against their best side and did cause them problems. You have to admire their quality.
"The beauty of our run-in is it's so tough on paper, it's turning into that in reality and we're learning all the time. We're learning some harsh lessons and they will help us come out of it a better team."