Real Madrid News
Chelsea legend ‘surprised’ by Hazard’s struggles at Real Madrid: “Expected more from him”
Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola has said that he is really surprised by Eden Hazard’s struggles since joining Real Madrid after a breathtaking tenure with the Blues.
Hazard, 31, joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2019 and despite playing three and a half seasons with the team, he has managed just 68 appearances across all competitions while scoring a mere seven goals.
Throughout his Real Madrid tenure, the winger has struggled with injuries to an extent that he has already missed 11 games in 2022 alone.
Last season, although he made 23 appearances across all competitions, he managed to score a solitary goal. It must be noted that Hazard’s best return for Real Madrid has been a tally of three goals that he scored during the 2020/21 season.
Reacting to his poor run of form, Zola, while speaking to MARCA, pointed out that he expected a lot from the Belgian given that he is one of the ‘most talented players in the world’.
“I am very surprised by Hazard,” said the former Chelsea and Italy footballer.
“Eden is one of the most talented players in the world and to see him suffer is something that is amazing to me. He has probably had some physical problems that have not allowed him to perform, but I expected more from him,” he added.
To say Hazard was a revelation for Chelsea would be a sheer understatement. Arriving at Stamford Bring ahead of the 2012-13 season, the wing-wizard scored a total of 110 goals in all competitions for the Blues.
And this is exactly why Real decided to splash over €100 million on the player. Before the start of the ongoing season, Hazard promised the fans that they would see the best of him this campaign, but as it turns out, he has started a solitary La Liga game for the team so far.
Real Madrid News
Mourinho talks Carlos Espi, Diomande, Guler, Tchouameni, Atletico Madrid after Elche 2-3 Real Madrid
Real Madrid found another way to win, but Jose Mourinho was hardly celebrating the manner of it.
Carlos Espi’s injury-time strike completed a 3-2 comeback against Elche, rescuing Madrid after they had surrendered control of a game that appeared to be in their hands.
For Mourinho, the result was welcome, but the performance raised a familiar concern.
“When everything seems easy and you let things slide, it’s dangerous. Then the team reacts and wins, but it’s not pleasant.
“The other good thing is that nobody gets bored with these matches. They’re fun,” he began saying.
Mourinho knows what is going wrong
The Portuguese coach was particularly frustrated by another drop in intensity after the interval.
Real Madrid had opportunities to put the game beyond Elche before allowing their advantage to disappear. Mourinho believes that pattern is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
“It seems obvious to me. It’s easy to understand. These are games that are all but over, where we have chances to seal the deal but don’t. After failing to do so, we go from having it easy to losing control.
“If we play poorly from the first minute to the 90th, the concern is huge.
“If we have periods where we’re at our best and others where we’re not proactive, just waiting, lacking intensity… Of course it’s a concern. But we won.”
The win keeps Madrid moving, but Mourinho’s concern is less about the points than the way his team is repeatedly making matches unnecessarily complicated.
Carlos Espi again provided the decisive moment from the bench, although Mourinho knows breaking into the starting XI will be difficult with Mbappé ahead of him.
“He’s a guy who works hard and is very motivated,” Mourinho said.
He then added, “He’s up against a player who’s in a league of his own (Mbappe), and we’re well aware of that.”
Madrid derby comes at a delicate moment
Next up is Atletico Madrid, and Mourinho’s attention is already turning towards the derby.
Rather than focusing on the opposition, he remains concerned about his own side’s ability to manage matches.
“The only explanation I can find is that we can’t keep going like this. We misjudged the opportunities we had, and once they score a goal, everything changes,” explained the Real Madrid coach.
Meanwhile, there were positives to take from individual performances, as Mourinho praised Yan Diomande’s development after another energetic outing.
“He’s improving. Physically, you can tell he has more minutes under his belt. He has a great work ethic and intelligence—he’s done a great job.”
Mourinho refuses to call Guler indispensable
Arda Guler’s importance was also questioned after another fantastic performance, but Mourinho rejected the idea that any player is beyond replacement.
“No, no one is indispensable. We were losing control when I made the substitutions; Vini did a great job on defence, but he was very tired.
“And Arda, who was playing in the number 10 position, was also losing intensity.
“I brought in a fresh Jude and Brahim when we were down 0-2, but I could sense we were losing control. That’s how it goes for us. And then, we brought in the heavy artillery and turned it around.”
Mourinho was also pleased with Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde during Madrid’s strongest spells.
“When the team was playing well, he and Valverde were playing well. They broke through the pressure easily, with skill.
“But the game had two phases—or rather three: one until it was 0–2, another until it was 2–2, and another until the end. They did a good job,” he concluded.
Source: AS
