Hazard's challenge

EI Madrid will host Levante tomorrow at the Alfredo Di Stéfano with fresh legs after a week off and with the good feelings of the victory in Vitoria (1-4), in which Hazard was an outstanding part. A goal and an assist made up the Belgian's best performance so far this year, perhaps since he was wearing white. Before the Granota team he has another challenge: to leave behind doubts about his physical condition and complete the 90 minutes, something he has not achieved since November 23, 2019, 433 days ago.

It was in a 3-1 against Real Sociedad at the Bernabéu, a remarkable match for the white team and Hazard, who in the next clash against PSG would see his luck change: on November 26, 2019 he received a kick from his compatriot Meunier in the right ankle, which triggered two almost consecutive injuries (he ended up undergoing surgery). Since then, he has only been able to play 22 games and none in full. Lor closer to it was in the game that closed last season, the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 against City in Manchester: 83 minutes in which he hardly left a mark. In recent weeks he has been combining questionable performances from the eleven (Pamplona) and entrances to the field as a shock with hardly any effect (Alcoy); to Vitoria, where it finally carburized and was replaced on the hour.

Bettoni, in charge of Madrid in Mendizorroza in the face of Zidane's absence due to coronavirus, predicted an even deeper improvement in the weeks to come: “Little by little he will give his great version. He has talent and we need him. He is very creative, spontaneous, has had injuries and 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 to more “.

Zidane, little by little with Hazard

Despite the words of Zidane's second, Hazard was seen leaving the stadium at times with a limp gesture, although he has completed the week of training without problems (in the absence of today morning) and the idea is that he starts against Levante and can complete the 90 minutes without risk to his physique.

Since he returned from his last injury, Hazard has followed an irregular pattern: against Elche he played 13 minutes, against Celta 16 ', in Pamplona he reached 75', in the Super Cup against Athletic they were 67 ', another 22' in Alcoy and in Vitoria, 63 '. Zidane wants to go with lead with the Belgian. With good reason: months ago, he squeezed him after returning from an injury with several starts in a row and ended up in the infirmary again, which brought the coach criticism from the player's native country. This time the Marseillais prefers to go slower, to be more confident.

The idea is that Hazard reaches 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. Plenty of time for him to keep marking and assisting and for him to find that special spark for one on one along the way.