Real Madrid’s free-flowing front three dominated Eibar
By Ben Sundock
In Real Madrid’s much anticipated return to play, manager Zinedine Zidane’s decision to deploy Eden Hazard, Karim Benzema, and Rodrygo as the three forwards paid off as they ran circles around Eibar and created chance after chance.
It took just three minutes for Los Blancos to get off the mark in the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano on Sunday night.
As Karim Benzema and Eden Hazard picked their way through the Eibar defense on the left-wing, the ball deflected out to Toni Kroos who took no time to settle the ball and finesse it in to the top corner of the net.
This was just the beginning of the onslaught as Real continued to tinker and adapt their forward line to expose the clearly unprepared visitors.
Not 10 minutes later, Hazard and right-winger Rodrygo Silva de Goes flipped wings and created even more problems as Dani Carvajal and the Belgian playmaker began playing off each other right in front of their manager. This move also saw Benzema drifting freely around the pitch looking and trying to get a hold of the ball whenever he could.
The second and third goals of the first half were all thanks to the hard work of the number nine and number seven for Real Madrid.
Karim’s through ball at the half hour mark put Hazard in alone on goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic, but smartly, Eden elected to square the ball for captain Sergio Ramos who scored on an empty net.
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Seven minutes later, it was Marcelo who put his name on the score sheet. Hazard made another stunning run down the wing and probably should’ve scored to mark his return to the starting lineup, but was denied by Dmitrovic.
The rebound fell nicely for the Brazilian fullback who blasted the ball past the Eibar shot-stopper to put Real Madrid up 3-0 heading into halftime.
Although we only witnessed 60 minutes of Hazard, Benzema, and Rodrygo working together, it’s clear now that the hype surrounding Eden’s performances in training over the last few weeks have not been exaggerated.
The number seven looked fit and showed flashes of why so much was paid to bring him over from Chelsea last summer.
Coming off his second ankle injury this season, Hazard registered one assist, created three chances, and completed 90 percent of his passes in an hour of work.
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Although Rodrygo was not as involved as the other two forwards, it was another good start in the league for the Brazilian – his ninth start in La Liga play this season – and he created a few quality chances.
Other than fitness levels, the Real Madrid front three doesn’t seem to have lost a step.