Hazard set for a reunion with Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals

Eden Hazard has endured an injury-stricken time at Real Madrid but has returned from his most recent hip injury in time to face his former club Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals.

The winger looks set to feature for Real Madrid as they host Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals after the Belgian made his return from a hip injury to play in a 0-0 draw against Real Betis at the weekend.

Hazard is now preparing to face off against the club where he gained legendary status after spending seven seasons at the London club in which time he won six trophies scoring 110 goals and assisting 92 in the process.

The 30-year-old winger joined Real Madrid from the Blues in the summer of 2019 for a fee in excess of £130m including add-ons and was expected to fill the void of Cristiano Ronaldo when he left the Spanish giants.

However, the Belgian has suffered a torrid time in the Spanish capital spending 361 days on the sidelines through injuries and missing 58 matches across the two seasons that he has been at the club.

In comparison, that figure more than doubles the 27 matches that Hazard missed through injury in his seven seasons at Chelsea.

Zinedine Zidane will be hoping to have the Belgian back for good now as Real Madrid battle on two fronts for the Champions League and La Liga titles.

This is the ninth time in the past 11 seasons that Los Blancos have made the semi-finals of Europe’s most-prized competition and Zidane is in search of his fourth Champions League title in charge of Real Madrid.

While it is the first time since 2014 that the Blues have reached this stage of the competition, manager Thomas Tuchel will be looking to become the first-ever manager to guide two different teams to the final of the Champions League in consecutive seasons.

After leaving the London club, Hazard has kept a place in his heart for Chelsea and he said: “I hope we get drawn against each other in the Champions League every season so we can meet again.”

The clubs have only ever competitively faced off three times in their history but the Belgian’s wish of facing his former club has been granted and despite his ties with the Blues, Hazard will look to be a part of the first Real Madrid team to ever defeat Chelsea in a European competition.

The three previous matches have each led to the Blues winning a European trophy. Chelsea’s first European title came as they won the 1971 European Cup Winners’ Cup where an initial 1-1 draw in the final forced a replay against Los Blancos and the Blues eventually prevailed champions with a 2-1 victory.

Chelsea also triumphed in the third meeting between the pair in the 1998 UEFA Super Cup final thanks to a late Gus Poyet winner.

Chelsea’s New ‘Hazard’

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The Blues will be hoping that trend continues in order to win a second Champions League trophy and one of their keys to success could be the man brought in to fill Hazard’s boots, Christian Pulisic.

Much like the Belgian, the tricky winger has suffered several injuries in the past two seasons however the American’s abilities were highlighted to the football world following Project Restart at the end of last season.

Pulisic contributed to eight goals in nine matches once the Premier League got back underway and the winger even scored in the FA Cup final before being withdrawn due to a hamstring injury.

That injury carried over into the start of this season which meant the 22-year-old had a slow start to the campaign but he has found his form again netting against West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace in recent weeks.

The similar playstyles of Pulisic and Hazard have led to inevitable comparisons between the pair but the American insisted he wants to create his own legacy at the Blues.

“It’s an honour to hear comparisons between me and Hazard.

“He was an incredible player at this club and he is someone that I have definitely looked up to, but I’m not trying to be like him or even comparing myself to him in any kind of way.

“I’m my own player and I’m trying to do the best for my football club.”

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Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos missed both legs of the last round due to a calf injury and remains sidelined for the first leg of the semi-final.

Ferland Mendy is also out with a calf problem and Lucas Vazquez is sidelined through a knee injury.

Federico Valverde tested positive for coronavirus over the weekend and so remains in isolation.

However, Zidane has been boosted by the return of two key components in defence as Raphael Varane and Dani Carvajal are both fit to face Chelsea and midfielder Toni Kroos is expected to be fit to start despite ongoing muscular issues.

Eden Hazard is also in contention to start against his former club having featured off the bench against Real Betis.

While Hazard has managed to recover in time to face his former club, the same fortune could not be applied to Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic as the former Real Madrid midfielder is the only absentee for Chelsea with a hamstring injury.

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