Hazard runs out of edge

Real Madrid couldn’t get past the draw against Elche in an unlucky duel for the Whites. Unlucky because merits did more than enough to take the points, he finished off 16 times, 8 of them on goal, and even missed a penalty. The team from Elche was ultra-effective in attack, generating two clear chances and nailing both of them into the Courtois net. At least Madrid took the consolation of going from 0-2 to 2-2, thanks to goals from Modric, a midfielder, and Militao, a defender.

Without Benzema (injured in the second half) and with Vinicius striving to clear rivals from the left, the eyes turned in the direction of hazardwho had 79 minutes to show his improvement after the goal scored in the Cup against Elche himself, which earned him a pass to the quarterfinals. But the Belgian did not leave anything of importance on the field as far as shots are concerned.

Because, in the almost 80 minutes he played, Hazard did not shoot once, neither between the sticks nor outside. A dangerous trend, as this course has been repeated several times. The Belgian showed improvement in the game, mixed well inside with Benzema and tested his dribbling several times (3), succeeding on one occasion. But, in a duel in which what Madrid needed was to test Edgar Badía’s gloves, Hazard was once again made a ball by the completion.

It’s an important trend and supported by the data: the Belgian has not fired once in 9 of the 18 games he has played this season. In that group of games there are occasions in which he went out for a few minutes, but also three duels in which he touched 80 minutes and another in which he played a full half. Opportunities had, but a mixture of shyness and lack of conviction in his own chances grips Eden, who has just 13 shots in 833 minutes this season. At least, he does take care of the quality of the shots: 11 of them were between the sticks.

With Hazard, Madrid ‘clicks’ more

He is also inhibited in the matter of dribbling, although he loosens up more with the minutes: he has made 30 dribbling attempts, 23 of them successful. Curiously, the days in which he performed best in this way, against the Sheriff (four attempts, two successful) and Cádiz (six attempts, three successful), were two duels in which Madrid did not win (lost to the Moldovans, drew with the Cadiz) and that left Hazard marked in the eyes of Ancelotti.

For Madrid’s ‘7’, in fact, not even common results are coming in handy: when he plays, Madrid’s tendency to puncture is much higher. He has started nine times this season, with five wins, three draws (Levante, Cádiz and Elche) and one defeat (Sheriff). At least the calendar and the short-term circumstances play in his favor: in Granada he has many options to be a starter on the left to replace the suspended Vinicius and it remains to be seen in what state the Brazilian returns from his team, facing the quarterfinals Cup in San Mamés against Athletic.