A lifesaver for Bale and Hazard

The Copa del Rey is the lifesaver for Bale and Hazard, the boat to get on in this stormy season for both of them to see if they succeed get something out of it, a mission in which, at the moment, they are not very active: Bale has scored a goal in just over 190 minutes, he has not played for Madrid since the end of August; Hazard has not even managed to score, he accumulates two assists in more than 700 minutes.

The two are in the Real Madrid squad against Elche, this Thursday at the Martínez Valero, in the round of 16 match of the Copa del Rey. Without Benzema or Asensio and with Rodrygo and Vinicius dragging accumulated fatigue after the Super Cup in Arabia, it is not unreasonable to imagine one of the two in the starting eleven, or both having minutes in the second half. An opportunity, perhaps, to convince Ancelotti that he is wrong about them.

Because the Italian seems to have it very clear, at least for now. His statements at a press conference in relation to both are eloquent: “Nothing has happened, there is competition and every game I have to choose the best. This affects many players. I do not deny it. Nothing in particular has happened, Hazard trains and waits for the call from his coach. If it arrives, it will be ready. There is nothing strange between us, there is competition and the coach, which is me, each game chooses the best to be fair. I choose the best to win. What happens in the big clubs is that there is a lot of competition. I can talk about Nacho, Marcelo, Ceballos, Isco, Jovic… Players of great quality to whom the same thing happens to Bale and Hazard. It is true that the two have had many setbacks. Injuries, problems… Bale is back nowHazard, I think he’s been physically fine for a month and a half. It is true that his quality could have helped us more, but only the first part of the season has passed. They haven’t been able to help much, hopefully the second half will be much better.”

There is a sentence of special weight in Ancelotti’s speech: “I am the coach and I choose the best in each game to be fair and to win.”. For salaries, Bale and Hazard should be the best, because at least they are the best paid: the Welshman receives about 15 million net per season; the Belgian is close to that figure, perhaps somewhat below. And Carletto knows that, even if he weathers the issues that come to him around the two of them, the debate is there: of the twelve questions he received at a press conference, six were about one of the two or both.

Hazard’s future is up in the air

If Madrid get through the round of 16 against Elche, Hazard and Bale will have even better prospects to play in the quarterfinals, as the white team is bleeding at the ends of their attack: Tité has called up Rodrygo and Vinicius for the national team break at the end of January, along with Casemiro and Militao; Valverde also leaves with Uruguay. The call of the Brazilians has not liked, because Brazil already has the classification for the World Cup assured and, therefore, the presence of the madridistas, who will not be able to play the quarterfinals of the Cup (they are played between February 1 and 3) , it was not essential.

With these two absences and waiting to see how Asensio recovers, it is possible that Ancelotti hardly has any options left in the band: Bale, Hazard, Lucas Vázquez and pulling in some outstanding youth player like Peter Federico or Arribas. In any case, Madrid has a preference: that Hazard accumulate minutes and show all the qualities that he can. Bale’s case is less worrying, his contract ends in June and he will not renew, so his path will separate from Madrid’s in just five months. But Hazard has a 2024 contract and in lace, after disappointing at a sporting levelIt is complicated in a future in which Madrid aspires to bring together Mbappé, Haaland, Benzema and Vinicius in attack.