The Belgian had to wait almost 400 days for his second strike in Madrid colours, and it proved one to remember
Eden Hazard was delighted to score a “beautiful goal” for Real Madrid after a year-long drought as Emilio Butragueno hailed the forward as “magnificent”.
Hazard blasted home with his weaker foot from nearly 30 yards out to give the Spanish champions the lead over Huesca on Saturday.
Zinedine Zidane’s men eased to a 4-1 victory that moved them back to the top of the table, with Karim Benzema scoring twice and Federico Valverde also on the scoresheet.
It was Hazard’s strike that will be best remembered, though, as it ended a wait of 392 days for just his second goal for Madrid since joining from Chelsea for an initial €100 million (£88m/$112m) in 2019.
392 – Eden Hazard has scored his second goal for @realmadriden in all competitions (24 appearances), the first one since October 2019 against Granada in @LaLigaEN , 392 days ago. Missile. pic.twitter.com/AflonuTcI5
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) October 31, 2020
Hazard was beaming as he recorded a short video message for fans that was posted on Twitter by Madrid after the match.
“Hi, guys! I’m just happy to be back on a pitch, [and] score a beautiful goal,” the Belgium international said.
“That’s for you. I hope to see you soon.”
Hazard did not create a chance for team-mates or produce a cross in his hour on the pitch against Huesca, but his link-up play with Benzema was encouraging throughout and one such move led to Valverde’s emphatic third goal, leaving Zidane pleased with what he saw.
“We are happy with Hazard’s game and happy with what we did today. He has no discomfort, he is happy with his goal, his teammates are happy with him. It’s a victory, it’s four goals, three points and you have to be happy,” the coach said.
Real’s director of institutional relations and former star striker Butragueno was also thrilled with the performance of the Belgium star.
“What Hazard did was magnificent. We saw that in the first goal,” he told Movistar after the game. “It gives you an idea of the category of player we’re talking about.
“From then on, the team felt more comfortable. Being effective up top helps the game to go how you want it to.
“He has had back luck since he came due to injuries. He’s a winner and what he wants is to be out on the pitch and helping the team. Hopefully, we can have him like this because he makes the difference.”
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