Eden Hazard bags first Real Madrid goal in 1-0 win over RB Salzburg
By Ben Sundock
Giving hope and showing tons of promise, Eden Hazard and Karim Benzema looked energetic pushing the ball up field to create chances against a defensive-minded Red Bull Salzburg side on Wednesday night in Austria. Here is a quick recap of Real Madrid‘s 1-0 win in its sixth preseason fixture.
From the moment the ball left the foot of Real Madrid’s number nine, it looked bound for goal as the €100 million man, Eden Hazard, galloped forward to get on the end of the great pass. Just 19 minutes into the preseason tilt against Salzburg, Hazard scored a stunning goal that not only calmed the nerves of Madridistas, but reaffirmed why the club was so desperate to bring the forward over from Chelsea.
Yes, it took Hazard six appearances to get that all important first goal, but it shows that the captain of the Belgian national team is starting to get comfortable playing alongside Benzema and is adapting well to his new life in Spain.
🙌 BOOM! @hazardeden10 celebrates his first goal in a @RealMadrid shirt! And what a goal it was!#HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/R3FTM1mkTo
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) August 7, 2019
In a match that many fans may have forgotten about, Real Madrid put on a clinic against the 2018/2019 champions of the Austrian Bundesliga despite only managing to score that one goal.
The defense looked much more in sync and it was great to see Casemiro return and Eder Militao make his debut with Los Blancos.
Alongside Militao and Casemiro, Luka Jovic and Thibaut Courtois both returned from minor injury setbacks that saw them miss the trip to Munich for the Audi Cup a week ago. While Jovic had more opportunities than in his appearances in the United States, he still has not been able to find the back of the net.
Courtois was a delight to watch tonight as he glided between the goal posts and helped to set up the Hazard goal. The goalkeeper’s ability to distribute the ball quickly and accurately to his teammates was on full display, showing that he has been working hard in training to solidify himself as the starter ahead of Keylor Navas.
Another notable performance came from Fede Valverde in the second half as he acted in a Casemiro type role in the midfield, winning the ball back emphatically and linking up well with the forward line thanks to his fantastic through passes.
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Real Madrid will now travel to Rome to face AS Roma in its seventh and final preseason match on Sunday before the La Liga season gets underway on August 17th.