Real Madrid News
Real Madrid superstar sustains injury, out for two weeks
Eden Hazard has had a very unfortunate time at Santiago Bernabeu since joining Real Madrid in 2019. His time at the club has been marred by injuries and lack of form, with the attacker missing more games than he has played.
In terms of fitness, the Belgian had fared relatively better, having missed just two matches due to an ankle injury earlier this year. But as confirmed by the club, the forward has sustained yet another knock.
“After the tests carried out today on Eden Hazard by Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with patellar tendinosis in his left knee and is under observation,” Real Madrid said in a recent statement.
Following the official release, The Athletic journalist Mario Cortegana has come up with a detailed report on the health of the Real Madrid players, where it has been suggested that the attacker could miss up to two weeks due to his most recent knock.
The injury of Hazard further compounds Real Madrid’s issue with the lack of fitness of their star players lately. The club have indeed missed out on the services of the likes of David Alaba, Dani Carvajal, Ferland Mendy and Lucas Vazquez in recent weeks.
Even in the recent win over Valencia, two of the Real Madrid stars Karim Benzema and Eder Militao picked up fresh knocks and have been subsequently ruled out in the upcoming contest against Mallorca on Sunday.
With Hazard also out, the attacking options are limited for coach Carlo Ancelotti, who has a daunting task ahead of him, given the club’s tough fixture list.
Although the Belgian has not played a crucial role in the first-team this season, his experience, coupled with his attacking prowess might have been useful for the club, as they look to keep up with Barcelona at the top of the league table.
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
