Ancelotti has warned forward Eden Hazard will fight to earn a place in his team.
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has warned forward Eden Hazard that he will have to fight to earn a place in his team.
Hazard was an unused substitute in Madrid’s 2-1 El Clasico win over Barcelona on Sunday after he missed last week’s 5-0 Champions League victory through an injury picked up on international duty.
Ancelotti picked the in-form Vinicius Junior who has scored seven goals this season and Rodrygo on the wings at Camp Nou and was rewarded when both were involved in David Alaba’s opener.
“The problem [Hazard] has right now is he has a coach who prefers another player,” Ancelotti said in a news conference on Tuesday ahead of Madrid’s LaLiga game with Osasuna. “That can happen in a squad like Real Madrid’s. What’s important is the player has the motivation to work to play. He is doing that.”
Hazard has shown some improvements in form and fitness this season after two years disrupted by a series of ankle problems since signing from Chelsea in 2019.
The Belgium international has made seven league appearances this season, four of them starts, but is yet to score.
“He has absolutely everything,” Ancelotti said. “He has all the characteristics to be a Real Madrid player. He has to keep fighting. Sometimes it happens, there are moments when the coach prefers others.
“Little by little he is getting back to his best version. I’m convinced that this season he will get to his best and will play more than he is playing now.”
