Eden Hazard criticised in Belgium after missed penalty for Real Madrid

As Real Madrid fans await Casemiro’s farewell press conference on Monday, they might be wondering if Los Blancos have any plans to bring in reinforcements. Once again however, it appears the attacking signing of the summer will be Eden Hazard.

The Belgian showed glimpses of good form during preseason as he reprised a new role through the middle of the Real Madrid attack.

However his seven minute cameo against Celta Vigo once again raised questions about his performance. Kristof Terreur of Belgian paper HLN was not impressed.

“Hazard, in reality, deserves silence. That Eden Hazard starts on the bench at Real Madrid should no longer be news. Now that discussion is not even worth having.”

“Missing a penalty does not help to change the perception of his situation either.”

Unsurprisingly, Carlo Ancelotti gave little importance the missed penalty and insisted that Hazard is indeed on his way back to his best.

“He has played little but he has demonstrated that he is coming back, he faced up [his markers] well. It doesn’t matter that he missed, he takes penalties well and he showed he is coming back,” he told Marca.

Hazard’s contribution this season seems hard to quantify from the outset. It seems unlikely that he will play as a starter this season, with Vinicius Junior, Karim Benzema, Rodrygo Goes and Fede Valverde all ahead of him in the pecking order. Getting back to full sharpness without regular minutes will be a tricky task for Hazard.