Real Madrid: Pros and cons of Eden Hazard playing in a free role
By Parshva Shah
Personal Thoughts
To begin with, I still believe Eden Hazard can be a very important player for Real Madrid this season, provided he can shrug off his injury woes. I don’t want to jinx it, but he looks sharp in training and had a pretty decent outing against Valencia.
Hazard can still contribute while playing as a left winger, but I think that spot totally belongs to Vinícius Júnior in the team now. Not only has he added goals to his game, but he seems to have developed many more aspects of the game which weren’t visible during the last few seasons. If anything, Hazard will share a minor chunk of the minutes playing as a left winger. We should expect and accept Hazard in his free-roaming role.
Starting Hazard in an asymmetrical formation can reap rewards for a team that has made a very promising start to the season. It’s just too big a deal to overlook the potential that this Real Madrid side could have with Hazard tucking in behind Benzema and having the freedom to play anywhere in the final third.
On whether the pros outweigh the cons or vice-versa, I believe we need to have a larger sample size in front of us to come to an outright conclusion. For the moment, it seems as though the only way Hazard can nail a place in the XI is by absolutely knocking it out of the park everytime he is handed an opportunity as a playmaker/free-roaming pseudo right-winger. Vinícius Júnior has made the left wing his own and Ancelotti has done the right thing by not bringing Hazard back as a left winger in the team. At least for the time being.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming weeks/months as the season begins to take shape. Real Madrid are off to a near-perfect start to the season and are scoring goals for fun without Eden Hazard contributing much. I can only imagine how the offensive output would transcend if a fit and firing Hazard operates between the lines.
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There will always be a downside to playing Hazard in a free role since it could affect the midfield combination and the overall structure of the team off the ball, but it surely is a prospect that demands attention and excitement. The Belgian might never be a starting left winger for Real Madrid, but he still has a lot to offer, and he seems to have gotten a new lease of life in his new role. Whether he can grab the opportunity remains to be seen, but optimism surrounds the possibility nevertheless.
Eden Hazard is not done just yet.