Eden Hazard urged to start scoring goals by Real Madrid teammate Casemiro

Casemiro has defended Eden Hazard’s slow start at Real Madrid but has urged the Belgian to start scoring soon as soon as possible.

Hazard is yet to find the net for his new club since joining from Chelsea in the summer and drew another blank in Real Madrid’s disappointing 2-2 draw with Club Brugge in the Champions League.

How slow has Hazard’s start been? Five things to know…

• Hazard joined Real Madrid in early June and so had a full pre-season with the club.
• However, he suffered a hamstring injury in mid-August that saw him miss three games.
• As a result, he has played just 357 minutes of action across all competitions this term.
• The forward is yet to score in five matches for Real, including three La Liga outings.
• And he looked hugely out-of-sorts against Club Brugge on Tuesday night.

He is yet to find the net since swapping London for Madrid in the summer, fluffing his lines in all five of his appearances for Real so far.

Casemiro, who was on the scoresheet against Brugge, jumped to his team-mate’s defence after Tuesday’s unexpected result in the Champions League, though the Brazilian conceded Hazard will be judged on goals at the Bernabeu.

“[Hazard] is trying, but football is [about] goals,” Casemiro said.

“We know he is among the world’s top five [players] and it is normal to have a period of adaptation.”

Madrid have taken just one point from their two European fixtures this season, but Casemiro insists the team can improve in the Champions League.

He added: “In the first half, we didn’t do well. I didn’t see the fans leaving [the stadium] angry and in the second half they supported us a lot.

“I haven’t seen them supporting us as much as today. We have to play like we did the second half, and we should never ask for forgiveness because we always try to do our best.”

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Vinicius: We can win all of our remaining group games

Despite their European form, Zinedine Zidane’s side currently sit top of La Liga, unbeaten after seven matches.

And Vinicius Junior, who injected some intensity into the proceedings on Tuesday, believes the team’s domestic form is proof they can get better in the Champions League.

“We played poorly in the first half, and had no impact on the game,” Vinicius said. “We reacted well after the break, but we must concentrate more.

“We have to improve our concentration in these important games in the future. There are many games coming up for the club, and I am confident we will start winning in Europe again.

“We could win all of our remaining Champions League games. Our form in La Liga shows that we are moving in the right direction as a team.”