Eden Hazard has praised Chelsea manager Frank Lampard and says his former club are ‘partying’ without him.

The Blues sit third on the Premier League table after winning eight and drawing two of their opening 12 games of the 2019-20 campaign.

After selling Hazard to Real Madrid for £88.5 million in the summer and then losing 4-0 to Manchester United on the opening weekend, many feared that a young Chelsea team faced a difficult season.

Lampard’s side have responded brilliantly to that early setback, though, with new first-teamers Christian Pulisic, Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount stepping up to collectively fill Hazard’s considerable shoes.

And the Belgium international believes his old club have coped brilliantly with his big-money departure in June.

‘When I watch them, [there is] no Hazard but it is a party,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘They can score a lot of goals, the fans are happy, they are third in the league, it is going to be a great season. They just need to stay there and win games.

‘We all know Willian, Jorginho, they are very good. Also with the young players coming through, it is great to see the club high and I hope they can stay there.’

Hazard played alongside Lampard at Stamford Bridge for two years, before the current Blues boss joined Manchester City in 2014.

And the Madrid forward says he would have loved to play under his former teammate, before addressing Chelsea’s trip to the Eithad Stadium this weekend.

‘Yeah, of course,’ he said of Lampard. ‘[Sunday’s game against City] is not going to be easy. The last time we played there we lost 6-0, bad memories for me and Chelsea.

‘But this season they are really good, they are really young but really good. Why not go there and win the game?’