Football News

Eden Hazard outperformed “spectacular” Liverpool players last season – Fernando Morientes

By Harry Edwards

Published: 15:29, 4 September 2019 | Updated: 0:07, 21 September 2022

Real Madrid winger Eden Hazard can be a revelation for the club following his summer move, according to Fernando Morientes.

Hazard finally joined Real from Chelsea in the summer having been linked with Los Blancos over the past few seasons, signing on a five-year deal.

How good can Hazard be for Real Madrid? Five things to know…

  • Eden Hazard signed for Real Madrid in the summer, ending years of speculation.
  • The Belgian spent the past seven seasons with Chelsea and was their most important player last term.
  • Hazard was involved in 38 goals for Chelsea in 2018/19, scoring 21 and recording 17 assists.
  • He is yet to feature competitively for Real Madrid after picking up a thigh injury.
  • But Fernando Morientes has backed Hazard to be a revelation for Real Madrid.

The Belgian is yet to make his competitive appearance for Real Madrid having picked up a thigh injury just before the start of the new La Liga campaign.

But when he does return to full fitness, Morientes – who spent eight years at the Bernabeu – expects Hazard to be a revelation after the 28-year-old outperformed Liverpool’s star players last season.

“I believe [he can be a revelation], given the relation between price and what we saw last year,” Morientes told reporters.

“It is true there were some Liverpool players who were at a spectacular level but, for me, Hazard was by far the [best] Premier League player. The fact he came to La Liga, I think he has been an extraordinary signing.

“It is not just because of the value added to our competition, but because he is player who created a lot of expectations.

“Many recognised players were supposed to come to Madrid but, at the end, Hazard is the most notable. Everyone expects he can keep last year’s level, which was extraordinary.”

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Hazard’s extraordinary final season with Chelsea

Since his signing in 2012, Hazard has becoming an increasingly important player for Chelsea with every passing season. It peaked for the Belgian in his final campaign for the Blues, helping them seal a return to the Champions League as well as winning the Europa League.

In the Premier League, Hazard was directly involved in 49.2% of Chelsea’s goals, scoring 16 and recording 15 assists – the latter a league-high last season.

No other team in the Premier League was more reliant on a single player than Chelsea in the 2018/19 campaign, with Leicester coming closest; Jamie Vardy contributed to 43.1% of the Foxes’ goals.

Hazard added another two goals and two assists in the Europa League, including scoring twice in the 4-1 win over Arsenal in the final, to end his Chelsea career on a high.