Real Madrid: How are Hazard, Benzema, and Asensio operating together as an attacking trio?

When Eden Hazard was signed for a huge fee in the summer of 2019, Zinedine Zidane had his plans clear. His idea was to use Eden Hazard, Karim Benzema, and Marco Asensio as the front three of Real Madrid and he was ready to let go of Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez in the process. But Marco Asensio’s ACL injury in the International Champions Cup had changed everything, and the club had to keep hold of the Welshman and the Colombian playmaker.

As a result of Asensio’s injury, Zinedine Zidane had to postpone the implementation of his plan to the summer of 2020. And he experimented with Bale, Isco, Lucas and, Rodrygo as the partner for the evergreen Benzema and Hazard, with the Brazilian teenager winning over Zidane with his maturity and effort.

Fast forward to June 2020, Asensio is back and running, but Hazard had his physical problems due to which he couldn’t play a lot. Though there were 12 matches left in LaLiga and UEFA Champions League, the much-hyped trio of Hazard, Benzema and, Asensio didn’t start a single game. Hazard’s ankle issues and another muscular injury troubled him further and kept him out of action till October of 2020.

Finally, on Oct. 31, 2020, 512 days after Eden Hazard’s signing was made official, the trio got to start a game together in a LaLiga fixture against Huesca at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano. I expected Eden Hazard to be the ball carrier given his reputation of being one of the best dribblers in football, Karim Benzema to be his usual self and Marco Asensio to step up and take up the responsibility of being a goalscorer and make a difference with his off the ball movement, and support the team in pressing.

Real Madrid’s attacking trio had some bumps on the road

They started two games in succession, against Huesca and Inter Milan, and the initial signs were pretty decent, despite Asensio struggling to find his feet and Hazard looking slow. Hazard didn’t try to burst through defenses like his usual self and instead tried to be effective with his link-up play. Hazard played from the left while Asensio played from the right as expected, with the Spaniard behaving like a calming presence with his tendency to bring the ball out of pressure and recirculate the ball.

More from The Real Champs

• Manchester City hold talks over Real Madrid target
• Real Madrid player confirms he is playing with a fracture
• Real Madrid superstar rejected Premier League clubs confirmed
• Spaniard ready to join Real Madrid instead of Liverpool
• PSG want €100 million Real Madrid player to replace Kylian Mbappe

There was nothing new in Benzema’s gameplay and he played his role of a link-up striker to perfection. But this couldn’t continue for a longer period as Hazard got infected with COVID-19 after the Inter Milan game and then suffered a thigh injury later in November, along with Benzema suffering a groin injury and some hip issues.

The trio started their next game together against Osasuna, after a gap of two months, but they had a game to forget. They struggled to create a proper goalscoring opportunity. They were so poor that a shot on target from Asensio made him look like the best forward on the pitch.

The problems each of the players were facing was visible. Hazard wasn’t at his best, and he was hesitating to attempt a dribble. Asensio had a great time on the left during Hazard’s absence, scoring a goal and assisting two in the process, but he had to struggle again after switching the flanks. Some adjustments were needed for the attack to do well.

That change finally came in the Supercopa De Espana Semi-Final against Athletic Bilbao, in which Hazard started through the middle, Asensio on the left and Benzema from the right. Hazard looked like a false-9 with two wide forwards ahead of him. Due to Hazard’s injury history and diminished impact with the ball at his feet, he focused more on his off-the-ball movements and made some runs through the middle. He had almost scored a goal after Casemiro picked up one of his runs with a delightful pass.

Asensio got the license to play as a classic winger and swing in some crosses with his left boot, with Karim Benzema arriving at the far post and Hazard waiting for the cutbacks. Benzema started from the right, but he kept confusing the defenders with his movement and often dropped deep to link-up with others.

But this setup was used only for 20 minutes, as Real Madrid conceded a goal at the other end and this kept a full stop to the experiment. They returned to the original setup on paper, with Asensio back to the right. But Asensio was clever with his movement in one particular sequence where he got onto the end of an Eden Hazard cross, but he smashed it against the post. It was another disappointing performance from the trio.

Karim Benzema and Eden Hazard were standouts against Alaves

The latest outing came against Deportivo Alaves in LaLiga, and that was a fantastic match for the trio, especially for Benzema and Hazard who got their names onto the scoresheet. Hazard played as an inside forward in this game and kept making some well runs through the middle. Ferland Mendy provided the width down the left flank when Hazard drifted inside, while Marco Asensio positioned himself wide on the right-wing. And most importantly, the buildup was channeled through the middle, and the team didn’t need to rely on crosses every time.

Karim Benzema and Eden Hazard dropped deeper to link up with the midfield when they felt the need to do so, and their combinational play was a treat to the eye. Hazard assisted Benzema with a neat backheel flick before the Frenchman blasted the ball towards the top left corner.

The duo kept making some clever runs through the middle off the defenders’ shoulder and had successfully managed to beat the offside trap. They also stretched the defense by drifting wide at times. Their active movement without the ball enabled Luka Modric and Toni Kroos to play some delightful through balls and some long balls over the defense, as the midfielders were guaranteed that there will be someone at the receiving end.

Marco Asensio has been a disappointment though. He couldn’t cut inside to take on the defenders and his wide positioning forced him to make back passes most of the time. He could improve with his off-the-ball movement, and try to get himself into scoring positions more often. He hasn’t done well from the right this season and has zero goals and assists as an inverted winger. He needs to step up big time to make sure that he can have a longer future at the Spanish Capital.

The Alaves game was a much-needed confidence boost for Hazard and Benzema, especially for the 30-year-old Belgian international. If he manages to stay injury-free, he can slowly but surely get back to his best. He needs to continue working hard to ensure that he doesn’t waste this shot at redemption. Karim Benzema has always lived up to the expectations, and you can’t really complain about him seeing the way he has stepped up after Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure.

Marco Asensio’s inconsistency is another cause of worry but if he can also improve his game, then we might have a strong trio in the making. At the moment it’s a big if, and it’s down to the players’ efforts and commitment. Let’s hope for the best.