LW Eden Hazard
Now we move over to Eden Hazard, who had two magical moments in the first half of Real Madrid’s 4-1 victory at the Mendizorroza.
The first was a dummy or backheel flick assist, whatever you want to call it. The assist set up Benzema’s first and was a great moment showing Hazard’s ability to subtly create clear chances in the final third.
Hazard scored a goal of his own – his third of the campaign in all competitions – to make it three for the visitors. His goal featured a gorgeous first touch and a deft finish over former Madrid man Fernando Pacheco. The touch itself was another clear example of Hazard’s sheer quality.
While the Belgian didn’t dominate this match, he showed up big-time with two goal contributions amidst plenty of questions after two poor showings in the losses to Athletic Club and Alcoyano.
CF Karim Benzema
Some praise should definitely go to Karim Benzema, who scored yet another brace with Eden Hazard starting to the left of him. Benzema’s first, assisted by Hazard, was an emphatic finish into the top corner of the net. Vintage Benzema.
His second goal atoned for the couple of times he botched Modric’s delightful passes. Benzema was on the left-hand side and took Modric’s killer pass in stride, cutting in on his right foot to deliver an unerring finish into the bottom right-hand corner. You just knew from the moment he shot the ball, it was only going to nestle into the corner of the net.
Benzema finished Matchday 20 with a team-high four shots on target and three dribbles completed. He is behind breakout star Youssef En-Nesyri and familiar faces Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi in the Pichichi race, but Benz very much kept the pace with this much-needed brace.