After defeating Villareal by a score of 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday, Real Madrid was officially crowned La Liga champions for the 2019/20 season. Madrid is seven points ahead of Barcelona in second place with one game remaining. This title became Madrid’s first league title after two seasons Barca won the La Liga trophy.
Madrid did experience huge improvementafter Zinedine Zidane returned as manager in March 2019. Some of the changes Zidane made included in the transfer market last summer. One who stole the attention was of course the purchase of star player Eden Hazard from Chelsea for € 100 million.
Although Madrid appear impressive this season, Hazard actually did not contribute much. He only recorded 16 league appearances with one goal and six assists. 29-year-old player back and forth into the treatment room because of injury. He also seems difficult to adapt to the tactics carried by his idol. In addition, Madrid has a number of world-class players who make Hazard not that big at Los Blancos.
Difficult Injuries
Reporting from Transfermarkt, this season Hazard missed 26 matches with Madrid. A number that is surprising considering Hazard is not an injury prone player. During playing for Chelsea since 2013, Hazard only missed 20 matches due to injury. Hazard missed more matches with Madrid in one season than with Chelsea in six seasons.
Regarding physical condition, injury is not the only problem faced. After being officially introduced as a new Madrid player at the Santiago Bernabeu which was attended by 50 thousand fans, Hazard left for a vacation. He returned with five kilograms added to his weight. “That’s right, I’m not lying. But when I’m on vacation, I’m on vacation. I gained five pounds in the summer. I am the type of person who goes up quickly but can go down quickly too. In the summer I’m 80 kilos, but I’m down (five kilos) in 10 days, “
Hazard also experienced difficulties during pre-season. An unusual thing because he was actually accustomed to pre-season heavy training as applied by Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho. By age, he is also still in the golden age of a footballer. Calamity comes the day before La Liga begins. Hamstring injury forced Hazard to be absent for almost a month. He returned in mid-September but re-entered the treatment room in December. Thomas Meunier, compatriot of Hazard in the Belgian national team, did a tack that was not hard but made Hazard’s right footrest wrong and Hazard’s left foot hit his own right foot. This injury is right at the ankle where he had surgery in 2017.
Various physical problems certainly affect the performance on the field. Moreover, it is also very influential on the process of adaptation of Hazard in Madrid. Zidane’s different tactics make Hazard have to adapt, but injuries really complicate the process.
Difficult Adaptation Tactics
Physical conditions that are not ideal interfere with the adaptation process Hazard in Madrid. This is compounded by differences in tactics with the previous team, especially in terms of freedom. When at Chelsea, Hazard was a player who was given freedom. This season with Madrid, he is not the only player who was given freedom.
Almost all the Madrid attackers were given the freedom to move. But the most influential for Hazard is Karim Benzema. Benzema is a striker who likes to widen, especially to the left side. Benzema’s performance improved dramatically after Cristiano Ronaldo left for Juventus, including at the end of last season when Zidane entered as manager. Therefore, Zidane certainly did not want to spoil the neat appearance of Benzema.
The French striker is still given the freedom to expand to the left. This causes Hazard to find another position, whether it’s playing further down or occupying half space. While at Chelsea, Hazard remained in a high position when Chelsea survived. He used to get the ball in the opponent’s field area or even the final third of the field. Benzema’s presence makes Hazard often pick up the ball in low areas. Based on data from Fbref, the number of touches per 90 minutes of Hazard increases in the initial third of the field and decreases in the final third of the field.
Heatmap chart for his performance in Madrid also illustrates the same story. With Chelsea, Hazard operates a lot in the final third of the field. After joining Madrid, Hazard more often operates in the middle third of the field. The impact is Hazard’s contribution to the goal process, both in goal scoring and assist when getting the ball in a high area with Chelsea, Hazard can dribble dangerously to then open fire or give feedback. The difference in the area of Hazard’s game made him not do many of these special things in Madrid. The table below shows the reduction in Hazard’s contribution to goals per 90 minutes. Whether it’s goals, assists, xG (expected goal), and xA (expected assists).
The classic combination of Hazard letting the ball pass between his legs and then being accepted by Olivier Giroud was also difficult to do with Benzema. This combination can be done if the players that feed, Hazard, and the striker are on the same line. But Benzema’s mobility means he is not in the right position to make this combination.
It’s not fair to blame Zidane for letting Benzema go left. This proved to be a success and was already there before Hazard. On the other hand, Hazard must still be given his best stage, which is in the final third of the field. It is interesting to see how Zidane unleashes the ability of Hazard next season.
Hazard isn’t that big in Madrid
Although bought as a Premier League star with a trophy collection that cannot be underestimated, Hazard is not the only star in Madrid. Unlike at Chelsea where he is a very prominent player. Chelsea are quite dependent on Hazard but the ex-Lille player successfully carried a heavy burden. Precisely when Hazard joined a team that did not depend on him, he failed to shine.
This was seen in the first two months when Hazard’s performance was less impressive. He himself realized that mistake. “I didn’t do everything right in the first two months. I told myself ‘you are too simple’. Too much baiting, people waiting for me to dribble, “Hazard said.
Hazard’s overly simple game is influenced by a number of attacking players who can consistently make changes. In comparison, Bruno Fernandes appeared extraordinary despite only joining Man United in the winter. For one thing, there aren’t many Man United players who are able to make changes consistently so everyone expects Bruno. The Portuguese player successfully met expectations and contributed a lot.
It’s hard to believe that a player of Hazard’s caliber doesn’t shine in Madrid. But he still has time to prove the star player label attached to him. If he isn’t bothered much by injury, ready to compete physically, a middle ground about tactics is found, and Hazard shows to prove that he can be a star player in Madrid, it is not impossible that Hazard can repeat or even develop next season.
ASL
