Chelsea legend Eden Hazard praises Man Utd star after World Cup heartbreak

Chelsea legend Eden Hazard (Picture: Getty)

Eden Hazard

has defended

Senne Lammens

after the

Manchester United

star made a costly mistake in Belgium’s

World Cup

quarter-final defeat to Spain.

Belgium’s quarter-final clash against European champions Spain looked set for extra-time and possibly penalties after Charles De Ketelaere cancelled out Fabian Ruiz’s opener.

But

Arsenal

midfielder

Mikel Merino

popped up with a

late winner after Lammens spilled Pau Cubarsi’s 25-yard strike into his path

.

Manchester United’s No. 1 was only on the pitch as Belgium legend Thibaut Courtois was forced off with an injury.

Lammens faced plenty of criticism following Belgium’s World Cup exit but Hazard has defended the ‘great goalkeeper’ and backed him ‘bounce back and come back even stronger’.

‘Senne is a great goalkeeper, he really is,’ Hazard, one of the Belgium’s greatest ever players and a

Chelsea

legend, told

Stake

‘He’s already proved that at club level and I’m sure he’ll prove it with the Red Devils soon enough.

Senne Lammens after Belgium’s World Cup exit (Picture: Getty)

‘People shouldn’t be too hard on him. He had to come on in a quarter-final and replace Thibaut Courtois… the best goalkeeper in the world.

‘That’s tough on anyone, but I’m sure he’ll bounce back and come out even stronger.’

Discussing Belgium’s World Cup campaign more generally, Hazard added: ‘I often saw that people didn’t really believe in us, but I think we showed that you shouldn’t underestimate Belgium.

Mikel Merino scored a late winner to down Belgium (Picture: Getty)

‘They gave us some really great moments. I was proud to see the fans across the whole country backing the team.’

Real Madrid’s Courtois also

did his best to console Lammens

following his costly World Cup error, saying: ‘It is a shame that Senne just couldn’t catch that ball, but that’s football.

‘Mike [Penders], Guy [Martens] and I went to give him a hug. You can’t say much at that moment. It’s just a sham, but Senne is an excellent goalkeeper.

‘He has a bright future ahead of him, and moments like that make you stronger. It shouldn’t be blamed on him. It’s part of football.’

Lammens enjoyed an impressive first season at Manchester United following

last summer’s £18m move from Royal Antwerp

, helping the Red Devils qualify for the Champions League.

The 24-year-old even received

special praise from Old Trafford legend Sir Alex Ferguson

, who described Lammens’ start at United as ‘outstanding’.

Manchester United face Championship side Wrexham in their first pre-season friendly on Saturday ahead of their Premier League opener against Hull on August 22.

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