Real Madrid: 3 takeaways from the Spanish Supercup Semifinals

Eden Hazard disappoints for Real Madrid

Real Madrid spent 100 million euros in 2019 for Eden Hazard to be their next big superstar after Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure to Juventus, and while Hazard has shown that superstar ability at times, Real haven’t exactly received their return on investment.

Most of that should be pinned on injuries, but Hazard needs to be criticized for his performance against Athletic Club. After Lucas Vazquez, Hazard was the worst player on the pitch for Los Blancos in the match.

He had a couple of dangerous moments, but those were moments created by teammates. As a whole, Hazard offered nothing incisive to Real’s attack. He was far from magical. And you’d expect a player of his caliber to provide much more threat to the opposition than he did in the Spanish Supercup semifinal fixture.

Hazard had one key pass, one foul drawn, and ZERO dribbles completed. He created nothing, really, for himself or his teammates, aside from one shot that Unai Simon had no problems diverting. It was a tame shot, for sure.

The pressure at Real Madrid is immense. It is a disappointment for any player to have a performance like this in a cup game. But for a player who cost the team more than anyone else on the transfer market currently in the squad, this performance is a failure that will be met with derision.

We must be careful not to exaggerate. Hazard is not a flop (yet). He is not useless. And he should still be the starter.

However, we can absolutely be critical. Hazard was dreadful, and Real Madrid cannot accept performances like this from a starting forward who is expected to be their best player.