Something’s up with Eden Hazard

Eden Hazard has run out of place in Carlo Ancelotti’s eleven. Neither with the doubts on the right wing of the attack nor with the loss of Rodrygo once the Brazilian has taken over that position has the Belgian had a chance. Against Shakhtar he was left without jumping onto the pitch after having been warming up for a good part of the second half. His role is increasingly residual and with 4-3-3 his chances seem reduced.

“He’s ready to play. It could be today, or Saturday. He needs minutes to find the best condition. He’s going to have them. I thought about putting him in today, but as a strategy I preferred to put in a winger. It’s much better inside the field, that’s why I chose Lucas Vázquez “, explained Ancelotti after the match against the Ukrainians. The technician gives one of lime and another of sand when asked about Hazard. He shows his confidence that he will regain his best level while leaving messages about the need for work in practice as the path to a chance to play.

Ancelotti tried to find him a fit since the beginning of the season. He started the season by putting Hazard on the left in the attacking trident. Vinicius’s explosion displaced him. Carletto he looked for besieged the Belgian on the right and changed to a 4-4-2 to center his position. But the Italian was not convinced with the team’s performance in that drawing and has ended up imposing a 4-3-3 where he does not find the place to place Eden.

The numbers speak for themselves. Hazard has played 409 minutes, 30.2% of the possible. Not a third of the time, which makes him the 14th most used player by Ancelotti. For comparison, with Belgium he has played 251 minutes in the five matches of his team. 55.7% of possible, a percentage that rises to 69.7% if the match for third place in the Nations League, which was lost due to injury, is not taken into account. An overload that prevented him from traveling to Kiev.

Since then, little is known of Hazard in the field. He was a substitute in the Classic, he played 21 minutes against Osasuna, 6 in Elche and none against Shakhtar. 27 minutes in the five games since the last FIFA break and 45 ‘since the beginning of October, the month that started with 18 minutes against Espanyol. In the Champions League, where Madrid wears their best clothes, they have only participated in one game: the 66 minutes he played during the Sheriff’s visit to the Bernabéu. The 100 million euros that his signing cost still does not pay off: every minute of the 53 games he has played with Madrid (2,849 ‘played) currently goes to 35,100 euros …