Eden Hazard has been slated for his performance against Athletic Bilbao last night.
Real Madrid were beaten 2-1 by the Basque outfit in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final, with Hazard lasting 67 minutes on the pitch at La Rosaleda.
The Belgium captain has been underwhelming since making a dream move from Chelsea in 2019, with injuries and a real lack of form meaning Hazard has been a shadow of his former, world-beating self in the Spanish capital.
Last night he failed to complete a single take-on before he was substituted in the second half and there was some quite brual reaction to his display from fans on Twitter.
But the most damning assessment comes from the Spanish media, who are known for not pulling any punches if a player does not perform.
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AS lead with the headline: "Hazard has no place" and state that he "is going from bad to worse".
Reviewing his performance, the article says Hazard played "without influence in the game, incapable of generating dangerous situations, bland and with a tendency to disappear from the field of play with each minute that passes."
Writer Agustin Martin also touches on his lack of end product and how he "didn't know" what to do when he received a pass in behind from Casemiro and his indecisiveness was costly.
The piece continues: "He received a ball from Casemiro inside the area, but he clearly didn't know what to do: Does he shoot, or force a penalty that never came... it was a constant: he wanted and could not (or did not know), he choked when facing defenders.
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"The bad thing is that he begins to repeat performances like this. And the rumour that he does not deserve to be a starter begins to run through the circles of Madrid fans."
"Madrid awaits him and there is no time. Eden also has no place for now. He is looking for it, but he needs to earn it: with performances like against Osasuna or against Athletic, no short-term solution is seen..."
Hazard has scored just three goals in 32 appearances for Real and went over a year without finding the net before he finally struck in October.
Manager Zinedine Zidane has admitted his No.7 is struggling with confidence at the moment.
"He needs to recover confidence, play a great game or score a goal, just to do something different. We know what a great player he is and we need to be patient with him as he is working hard," he told a press conference.
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"We are behind him and must give him time. The fans want to see the best version of Eden so we must be patient.
"We're sticking with him and he really wants to step up."
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, Eden Hazard, Chelsea, Football, Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid
