Enigma Hazard

Real Madrid woke up from the nightmare that led to their double elimination in the Super Cup and Cup, against Athletic and Alcoyano respectively, with a convincing victory against Alavés in Mendizorroza, an always quarreling place and in which the whites prevailed emphatically (1-4). Several proper names left their mark on the game: Kroos gave two assists, Modric another, Benzema made a double … and Hazard showed the paw with what was probably his best performance of the course, with a goal (great technical gesture to puncture a long ball and then good definition with his bad leg) and an assistance (of heels to Benzema).

Hazard's first season as a Madrid player was an ordeal of injuries finished off with just one goal, against Granada, and closed with a very disappointing performance against City in the second leg of the Champions League. The second is not on a better path: it has accumulated several injuries, a coronavirus contagion and it cannot take off completely. Until the Vitoria duel, he had barely left a shoe against Huesca and a penalty scored against Inter at San Siro. Sparkles, little prize from a player of more than 100 million euros who is already late. In Mendizorroza he instilled morale to those who still believe that he can reach the heights he set as a Chelsea footballer in white. But his physical condition continues to leave doubts.

Despite his good performance, Bettoni (leading Madrid in Vitoria in the absence of Zidane's coronavirus) He decided to replace him at the time of the game, denying him the option of finishing off his good game with another goal that would end up raising the general optimism. “Little by little he will give his great version. He has talent and we need him. He is very creative, spontaneous, he has had injuries and he needs confidence to face more. I know that in football there is no such thing as patience, but we are going to trust him. It was a change to bring freshness and verticality, but it's okay. A little bit of the best version of Hazard has been seen, it will go further “, Bettoni explained after the meeting.

However, despite the words of Zidane's second, Hazard was seen leaving the stadium at times with a limping gesture and since he returned from his last injury he has not completed an entire match. Against Elche he played 13 minutes, against Celta 16 ', in Pamplona he reached 75', in Super Cup against Athletic they were 67 ', another 22' in Alcoy (He was not expected to play, he entered due to the urgency of the result) and in Vitoria, 63 '. An irregular order that implies that Zidane wants to go with lead feet with the Belgian. With good reason: months ago, he squeezed him after returning from an injury with several starts in a row and Hazard ended up again in the infirmary, which gave the coach criticism from the player's native country. ANDThis time Zizou prefers to go slower, but go safe.

Hazard: Atalanta target

If the plan works, the idea is for Hazard to reach his maximum flight for the first leg of the Champions League round of 16: on February 24 against Atalanta in Italy. There are five league games left by then, at the rate of one a week with the exception of Getafe's visit to Valdebebas. Enough time to train, play, rest and avoid risks while the Belgian finds cruising speed. The one-on-one spark that made him a differential player in England is still missing; while, at least, he is scoring and distributing goals. What to expect from the Belgian in the coming weeks ranges from the best to the least. It is Hazard's enigma.