Eden Hazard reaches maximum absurdity (Photo: Getty Images)
At his best, Eden Hazard is, perhaps, the most dangerous attacking player in England. With a PFA Player of the Year award already on his CV, the Chelsea winger is destined to go down in history as a Premier League legend.
However, if it wasn't for Bournemouth goalkeeper, Artur Boruc, the world might be crowning Hazard the undisputed king of Premier League footballers right now.
In the 29th minute of Chelsea's 3-0 win against Bournemouth, the Belgian tried something so audacious, so outrageous and so ridiculous, most players wouldn't have even considered it. However, Hazard is not 'most players'. So, when he decided to SHOOT FROM 20 YARDS OUT WITH A RABONA, he not only managed it… he very nearly scored.
Forget your Tony Yeboah belters, your Dennis Bergkamp magic turns, your Paolo Di Canio scissor kicks, your Wayne Rooney bicycle kicks and your Robin van Persie volleys.
Let's take a closer look at the effort that so nearly surpassed them all…
At first, it looks like this is going to be a fairly standard Eden Hazard special. Run at defence from left wing, cut inside, drift effortlessly past hapless defenders, bang it in the bottom corner. Simple.
But no. Instead, Hazard pops it off to Fabregas…
…who loses the ball - at which point it all goes a bit scrappy.
Initially, it's difficult to see what Hazard could possibly do from this position. You can just make him out there, slightly ahead of the ball, looking like he's about to be clattered in a 50-50 with a big, hairy, scary Bournemouth defender.
Not a chance. Hazard's brain works SO swiftly, he decides - for some inexplicable reason - to bend his legs, contort his body into a seemingly impossible position…
…and rabona the bloody thing.
He's twenty yards from goal. The ball has come at him quickly. His body position makes it look like he could fall over at any moment. Simply connecting with the ball under these circumstances would be an achievement.
But Hazard doesn't just connect. He catches it so perfectly, the ball flies off his foot towards the goal. Look carefully at the clip, and you can just see Willian thinking, "What the hell?"
As it arrows towards the top corner, history beckons. The moment that ball hits the net, Hazard will have scored the greatest goal in Premier League history.
Sadly for everyone who doesn't support Bournemouth, the blurry image you'll see in the clip is Cherries goalie, Artur Boruc flying across his goal and tipping the wonderful effort over the bar.
The big spoilsport.
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