Real Madrid: Pros and cons of Eden Hazard playing in a free role
By Parshva Shah
THE PROS
1) A Real Madrid XI with both Eden Hazard and Vinícius Júnior
When Eden Hazard was signed in 2019, people in the Madridista circles began to wonder how will the Belgian and Vinícius Júnior feature in the same lineup because of their playing positions: the left wing. Some thought that the former Flamengo prodigy would feature on the right flank since he had a fantastic 2018-19 season to back it up. But it was evident that Vini Jr. as a right winger was not half the player he was/is as a left winger.
Hazard was an automatic first-choice under Zinedine Zidane whenever he was on the pitch, with one of Rodrygo, Marco Asensio, or Fede Valverde (albeit to a much lesser extent) occupying the spot to the right of Karim Benzema.
We got the first glimpse of Eden Hazard and Vinícius Júnior in the starting XI against Mallorca in June 2020, when Zizou rolled out a 4-2-3-1 with Vinícius Júnior on the left, Eden Hazard functioning in the centre, and Gareth Bale on the right. Karim Benzema played up top.
Under Carlo Ancelotti, Eden Hazard began the first two games of the season on the left with Vini Jr. coming off the bench in both of these games and scoring 3 goals in all. That led Don Carlo to introduce the 21-year old youngster in the starting XI, with Hazard dropping to the bench.
Given the Brazilian’s form, it’s hard to bench him. At this point, he is one of the first names on the team sheet. Against Valencia during the weekend, Carletto played with a 4-2-3-1 formation featuring both Eden Hazard and Vinícius Júnior in the lineup for the first time under the new manager. And they clicked.
Having both Hazard and Vini Jr. on the pitch at the same time – playing in their favourable positions – allows a coach to be relaxed as far as the attacking part of the game is concerned. While Hazard functions on the centre even though he starts on the right on the paper, Vini Jr. can wreak havoc down the left flank.
2) It allows Eden Hazard to flourish
Eden Hazard isn’t getting younger. Heck, he will turn 31 in January 2022. Given his history with injuries ever since joining Los Blancos, he is not the same player he was at Chelsea. Sure, he can still have the occasional dazzle, but he can’t slalom past players effortlessly the way he did a few years ago.
That’s exactly where his newfound role as a free-roaming midfielder comes in. With Vinícius Júnior taking the left wing spot by the scruff of its neck, the only way Hazard can nail a starting spot under Ancelotti is by making the free-roaming role his own, which he is pretty much capable of doing. In fact, he likes to have that freedom of controlling the play and pulling the strings in attack, something which he can’t do as effectively by playing out wide.
According to Transfermarkt, Hazard has played as an attacking midfielder/second striker 106 times throughout his club career, scoring 37 times and assisting 35 times. That makes it 72 goals+assists in 106 appearances, averaging 0.68 G+A per appearance. In comparison as a left winger, he has featured 338 times, scoring 92 goals and registering 94 assists. These numbers sum up to 186 G+A in 338 appearances, averaging 0.55 G+A per appearance. That is a 19.18% drop-off from his stats in a free-roaming role. This suggests that he is much more productive when functioning through the centre of the pitch rather than out wide.
This transformation to a #10 or a free-roaming pseudo right-winger (as I would like to call it) can be compared to the one we have seen with Cristiano Ronaldo, who has become more of a #9 over the years, moving on from being a left winger. It allows Eden Hazard to have maximum impact from areas he can create more danger, with much more productivity.
3) The telepathic connection between Eden Hazard and Karim Benzema can continue
If one thing is clear from Eden Hazard’s time at Real Madrid, it is that he can put on a fantastic performance in tandem with Karim Benzema with a blindfold over his eyes. Before Hazard’s 2019-20 season was derailed due to a knee injury against Paris Saint-Germain in November 2019, he had developed a wonderful strike partnership with Benzema.
Given King Karim is probably playing better than any other footballer on the planet at the moment, it only makes sense to throw Eden Hazard in the mix to operate right behind the Frenchman in a fluid offensive system. It helps elevate not just the team, but can also finally help us witness the true connection between these two players.