Jurgen Klopp’s men took a hugely significant step towards booking their berth in the semi-final of the Champions League for the second season in a row with a 2-0 win over FC Porto on Tuesday.
The Reds secured a healthy advantage heading into the return leg at Porto next week, courtesy of goals from Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino, who completed the win before half time at Anfield.
Liverpool will now shift their focus back to the nervy Premier League title race in England on Sunday, when they host Chelsea in a critical encounter on Merseyside.
Maurizio Sarri’s men are buoyed after securing three consecutive wins in the Premier League in recent weeks and have benefitted from the sparkling form of Hazard, who bagged a brace in his last outing on Monday.
And ahead of the colossal showdown between the Premier League giants, McAteer has conceded he is worried about Hazard continuing from where he left off against West Ham and hurting Liverpool at Anfield.
The former Red admitted Hazard can hurt teams if he fancies it on the day and reiterated on his fear of the Belgian running riot against Liverpool on Sunday.
“We’ve all pretty much accepted that he is going to leave, which is a shame really; we are all suggesting Real Madrid and it would be a shame to see him drop out of the Premier League”, McAteer said on LFC TV, when discussing Hazard.
“He is a talent, obviously not in [Lionel] Messi’s bracket, but is the next level down.
“He is one of those players that, if he fancies it and they can get him on the ball, he can hurt you.
“That is the worry for me in Liverpool against Chelsea, if he is at it.”
Hazard has been directly involved in the highest number of goals (28) in the Premier League this term, after scoring 16 times and registering an assist for 12 goals from his team-mates.