Barely 72 hours had passed since Gareth Bale struck down Sheffield with a hat-trick at Tottenham's new stadium, when 30 kilometers from the new ‘spur’ stadium, at Stamford Bridge, Real Madrid played their pass to the Champions League final held in Istanbul. With the whites, Eden Hazard lined up as a starter. The Belgian had started against Osasuna: it was his tenth start in the 18 games he has played this season … and in his serve there are only three goals scored: against Huesca and against Alavés in the League and the remaining penalty against Inter Milan in the Champions League …
And is that the differences between Welsh and Belgian are being noticeable in relation to his first two seasons in the white team.
Gareth Bale arrived in Madrid in the summer of 2013, specifically at the end of the transfer market. It was his agent, Jonathan Barnett, who obtained the 'yes' from the president of the 'spurs' Daniel Levy to close a transfer for more than 100 million euros. The impact of ‘The Cardiff Express’ was immediate. In his first game as a starter he scored against Villarreal. Thus began a formidable campaign: would score 22 goals in 44 games (an average of 0.5 goals per game) and would give 19 assists. He would participate in 41 goals in total: an average of almost one goal per game (0.93), leaving two notches that shine in the Museum of the Bernabéu: the second goal for the whites in the Champions League final against Atlético in Lisbon and that put the Champions on track. Spectacular was the goal that Barcelona scored in the final of the Copa del Reand, leaving Bartra behind and scoring an anthological goal, after traveling 60 meters in just seven seconds. The second season his performance dropped a bit: with 17 goals and 12 assists in 48 games. In total, in those first two seasons, Bale played 92 games (across all competitions), scoring 39 goals and 31 assists. He missed eight games due to injury (he came with a muscle tear that would take its toll after debuting), but leaving a record of participating in a goal every 105 minutes.
However, and On the contrary, Eden Hazard's first two campaigns have not been as positive as those of the Welshman.. The Belgian, signed in 2019, after star in a formidable World Cup in Russia in 2018 and lead Chelsea to play and win the Europa League final. Like 'The Cardiff Express', his signing for the Whites cost more than 100 million euros … but his performance … The Belgian arrived overweight in the preseason of the Whites: with 7-8 extra kilos, which he subsequently ordered to give it truthfulness through an interview in a medium in your country. It did not start until the beginning of November, with great games against Real Sociedad and Eibar, but an ankle injury in a Champions League match against PSG began its path of bitterness: it has barely been able to participate in 40 games (18 of 48 that have played for Madrid this season: 37.5%). In the comparison with Bale, the Welshman ‘sweeps’ the Belgian: Hazard only participated in 11 goals (four scored and seven assists), and his average rose to 597 minutes in his participation in goals. Of course, curiously, while Bale missed only eight games due to injury, Eden already has 58: that is to say For every game Bale missed through injury in his first two seasons, Hazard has been unavailable in seven …
Comparison between Bale and Hazard in their first two seasons at Madrid
Bale | Hazard | |
Matches | 92 | 40 |
Goals | 39 | 4 |
Assists | 31 | 7 |
Goals match | 0.42 | 0.10 |
Goal. and Asis. per game | 0.76 | 0.28 |
Goal minutes | 189 | 597 |
Goal and assist minutes | 105 | 217 |
Injuries | 4 | eleven |
Games lost due to injury | 8 | 58 |
Now, Eden has four games ahead of him to try to conquer the League and ingratiate himself with the Madrid fans … and so that Bale does not continue to “sweep him away” …