Real Madrid can’t accommodate Eden Hazard’s best position

Much has been made of Carlo Ancelotti’s decision to leave Eden Hazard on the Real Madrid bench in recent fixtures. Some Madridistas are so incensed that the No. 7 isn’t playing that they are using this as a reason to criticize Ancelotti for everything that goes wrong with the club. While it is understandable for fans to want to see a player of Hazard’s pedigree on the pitch, the reality is that the ship has sailed.

When Ancelotti first arrived in Madrid for his second stint as the club’s manager, he experimented with a variety of systems. Hazard was a prominent part of these experiments. We saw him in a free role, as a left winger, as a right winger, and as a central playmaker. And he played well, averaging a healthy dose of key passes per game.

However, Hazard did not play great. The trade-off Real Madrid took in terms of their defensive structure was not worth the chances Hazard created. Because Hazard was not adding to the goal-scoring, nor was he impacting the game with the ball at his feet. He was playing simple, effective passes in combination with other players, but Real could not accelerate in transition, nor could they defend effectively in transition. And with Hazard in the free role so that he could play with the team’s two best players, Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior, the formation was too unbalanced and either vulnerable defensively or unduly narrow.

Hazard, at this stage of his career, is not a winger. Ancelotti, to his credit, figured that out very quickly. The Belgian cannot win one-on-ones as consistently, and if he were to play on the wings, he would risk overloads or recurring injuries.

Real Madrid only have one spot open in their front three

So Hazard must play a more central, playmaking role. Ancelotti knows this. But Ancelotti also knows that this position can only be used on rare occasions at Real Madrid. Ancelotti has wisely committed to the 4-3-3, which leaves Hazard out of the equation.

The left wing is locked up. Vinicius is the guy. And it is hard to see Hazard offering more than Rodrygo Goes on the left. Karim Benzema is vital at striker. Hazard could be a false nine, but why experiment with him when young striker Luka Jovic needs minutes? And why preferentially experiment with Hazard instead of Rodrygo as a 9? Then on the right side, Rodrygo, Lucas Vazquez, Gareth Bale, and Marco Asensio are all options. Rodrygo and Vazquez offer the most running and defensive support, while Bale and Asensio are natural left-footers who can offer scoring threat (Bale moreso than Asensio).

Hazard is in a tough spot. Objectively, he is clearly better than these players when he’s at his best. The problem is that the only spot in the front three open is the right wing, and that becomes the free role for Hazard. As we have seen in matches when Ancelotti used this tactical wrinkle, Real Madrid are worse off as a team, because the already-stretched defense becomes even more vulnerable to counters.

We know what Hazard is capable of. Even with his agility and speed not where they were before all the injuries, Hazard remains a high-end playmaker and someone who can help Real Madrid in a theoretical sense. But in reality, Real just do not have the formation, the setup, and the flexibility to accommodate Hazard in his transition to a playmaking role. As we have seen, the trade-off has not been worth it when Los Blancos have tried.