Real Madrid left winger Eden Hazard could only feature in 749 minutes of La Liga and 375 minutes in the Champions League due to injuries, so having him healthy is of paramount importance to Los Blancos.
When Eden Hazard was fully integrated into the Real Madrid lineup and healthy, Los Blancos were unstoppable. With Hazard firing on all cylinders, Los Blancos looked like one of Europe’s most fearsome teams in late October and early November.
They destroyed Galatasaray in the Champions League 6-0, defeated Real Sociedad 3-1, and were bossing PSG 2-0 before Hazard suffered his first serious injury during that game.
Hazard briefly returned in late February before suffering another significant injury, and he’s been out since then. It was another crushing blow to Real Madrid, whose attack clearly suffered greatly without Hazard taking defenders on and transitioning counterattacks.
Although the fleet-footed Belgian only scored once with one assist in La Liga, Hazard made a profound impact on everyone else in the lineup, especially star striker Karim Benzema. The French forward’s best games came with Hazard holding down the fort on the left wing, and their chemistry was clear to watch against La Real, for example.
Other statistics highlight Hazard’s huge importance to Real Madrid. According to WhoScored.com, Hazard averaged 3.9 dribbles per game and drew 3.5 fouls per game in La Liga last season. Those are astounding numbers that highlight his danger to opponents, with the fouls winning crucial free kicks for Toni Kroos and others. Hazard was also busy drawing penalties, which directly translate into goals. In the Champions League, he was also dynamic with 2.8 dribbles per game and 2.8 fouls drawn per contest.
Nothing is more important to Real Madrid in 2020-2021 than a healthy Eden Hazard. His dribbling skills, confidence, end product (look at his numbers at Chelsea), and stylistic fit make him perfect for Real. The club paid 100 million euros to Chelsea and had him identified as a long-term target beforehand, so neither Zinedine Zidane nor Florentino Perez should have regrets about signing the former Premier League legend in his prime.
Los Blancos simply need luck to be on their side, because it was quite clearly not in 2019-2020 with regards to Hazard. Real played things as safe as they could after his first injury, so the second blow was as unlucky as the first.
Hopefully, Hazard can return to full strength by the time football starts again. For Real to fulfill their attacking potential and dominate Europe again, they need Hazard, as their clear star player, to be healthy. Because if there is, there is nothing else holding him back from greatness.