Eden Hazard is facing his first real final as a Real Madrid player, with the UEFA Super Cup taking place on Wednesday night.
Since he arrived at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, his team have played three deciders but he participated in none of them.
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The first was the 2020 Supercopa de Espana, where Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid on penalties. At the time, Hazard was recovering from the injury he suffered in the Champions League duel with Paris Saint-Germain.
The other two came last season against Athletic Club in the Supercopa de Espana and in the Champions League with Liverpool.
Hazard was not in good shape for either of those games and Carlo Ancelotti decided against using his forward.
Despite being considered as one of the favourites to depart the club this summer, Hazard has travelled with the rest of his teammates to Helsinki for the UEFA Super Cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Ancelotti has made clear that he is “counting on Hazard for next season”, and the Belgium international’s pre-season has brought optimism to the team.
Hazard to start on the bench
There is no doubt that Hazard is a backup player at Real Madrid. Ancelotti‘s intention is to use him as a second-choice striker to fill in for Karim Benzema when needed.
Hazard has worked at a false No.9 position during the US tour in his bid to fulfil the promise he gave Real Madrid fans at Cibeles that he will bounce back in 2022/23.
It is highly unlikely that Real Madrid will move for another striker even in the event that Mariano Diaz departs the club this summer.
In Helsinki, Hazard has the opportunity to rediscover his form and finally live up to expectations. He would be doing that off the bench, though, as he isn’t expected to start this match.
