Hazard back to Reality
FIRST GOAL IN A YEAR
1
EDEN HAZARD’S first goal for more than a year sent Real Madrid back to the top of La Liga with a crushing win over Huesca.
The Belgian forward has spent an injury-hit spell at Real but the former Chelsea star set the hosts on their way.
And Hazard earned praise from Zinedine Zidane, who hopes only his second game in 24 for the club can kick-start his stuttering Real career,
The Madrid boss said: “I’m very happy to see Hazard score his first goal of the season.
“Bit by bit he is getting back to his best. We needed him because he opened the game up with his goal. You could see the quality that he has linking up with other players.
“Hazard played well and with no physical reaction. It was a few minutes the other day and now an hour. We must be patient with him, but we know what a player he is.”
Real, who had lost their previous two home fixtures, made a slow start and were fortunate not to fall behind against a Huesca side without a league win this season.
But Hazard made the breakthrough with a superb left- foot shot into the left corner in the 40th minute.
And once Huesca’s resistance was broken, Karim
Benzema struck again on the stroke of half-time.
Zidane’s side were sparked into life as Benzema’s neat leftfoot finish extended their lead.
The pair then combined to lay on the third for Federico Valverde in the 54th minute
David Ferreiro tapped in for a consolation as Real continued to dominate, with Benzema rounding off the scoring with a header after Ferreiro’s tap-in.
Zidane added: “It was important to add goals to this performance.
“These are three important points. We have come into this from two games where we left a lot of energy.”