Eden Hazard's face lit up when he found out he was about to get a rare cameo appearance for Real Madrid on Sunday.
The Belgian, who joined Los Blancos in a dream £90 million move in 2019, barely features these days and has managed just 74 appearances in his time at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The likes of Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo Goes and Federico Valverde are all preferred by Carlo Ancelotti, which has restricted Hazard's game-time massively.
But on Sunday, he played in La Liga for the first time since September - some 205 days ago - as the 14-time European champions smashed Real Valladolid 6-0.
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Karim Benzema scored a hat-trick, while Rodrygo, Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez were also on target in the resounding rout.
And in the second half, Ancelotti decided to rest captain and talisman Benzema but Hazard was pleasantly surprised that he was entering the fray.
He pointed to himself in disbelief and then had a big smile on his face. Luka Modric also looked delighted for Hazard and helped him get changed on the bench.
The former Chelsea star has suffered from frequent injuries and a loss of form but he produced a reminder of the quality he possesses in his brief outing.
In just 28 minutes, Hazard created four chances and registered an assist for the sixth and final goal.
Hazard went seven months without playing in La Liga and his future in the Spanish capital is very much in doubt.
However, Ancelotti stressed that the No.7 still has a role to play in his squad and will be handed more game-time if he continues to impress in training.
"Eden has trained during the break. He has played very little, but he has done well, and has given an assist. By training well, he will have opportunities”, Diario AS quote the Italian as saying.
Although the La Liga title looks to have be out of their reach, Real are still fighting for another Champions League and take on Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg on Wednesday.
Topics: Eden Hazard, Chelsea, Real Madrid, La Liga
Josh Lawless