Carlo Ancelotti & Toni Kroos praise ‘clinical’ Eden Hazard

Eden Hazard has been singled out for praise by Carlo Ancelotti and his Real Madrid teammates after impressing against Celtic.

As he usually does these days, Hazard started the Champions League match on the bench, but was brought on after 30 minutes for the injured Karim Benzema.

Playing as a false nine, the Belgian performed well, getting on the scoresheet and creating a number of chances for his teammates. In Ancelotti’s eyes, it was the perfect match for his player.

“I thought this was a game for Eden,” said the Italian.

“His position, a bit deeper, could help us… He was clinical, we scored the second thanks to him and he was in the box to score the third. A perfect game for him.”

It was one of the highlights of what has been a difficult three years at Real Madrid for Hazard, with the forward struggling with both form and fitness throughout that time.

Toni Kroos never doubted him though, saying that it was always obvious that he was a quality player, and that injuries have prevented him from showing it.

“It’s never been a question of quality [with Hazard],” the midfielder said.

“It’s been his physical condition, his injuries. Today he came on and did well, let’s hope he carries on like that.”

Whether Hazard starts the next match up front depends on Benzema’s fitness, but he probably shouldn’t hold his breath with Ancelotti saying the Frenchman’s injury doesn’t seem too serious.

“It doesn’t seem worrying. We’ll have to wait [until] tomorrow for tests. The first evaluation doesn’t seem very serious, but we’ll have to wait for tomorrow,” he said.