Hazard knows his Real Madrid place' quiet well', insists Ancelotti

The Belgian star has struggled for game time at Real Madrid recently.

Carlo Ancelotti believes Eden Hazard understands his situation in Real Madrid’s pecking order.

Fitness issues hampered Hazard’s start at Santiago Bernabeu after his big-money move from Chelsea in 2019. However, the Belgian international has also failed to impress during his injury-free periods.

This season, Hazard has so far played only 98 minutes of La Liga football, coming off the bench three times.

“It is clear that each player knows his situation. I have to explain to them what’s going on,” Ancelotti said ahead of Real Madrid’s Champions League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk.

“In this regard, Eden has not spoken to me. He has a lot of competition. The situation of his and others is quite clear.

“He understands the situation very well – every player understands his situation very well. There’s a lot of competition here.”

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Real Madrid lost their top place in La Liga after drawing 1-1 against Osasuna on Saturday. The Blancos saw a penalty miss ruin Karim Benzema’s return to action from injury.

However, Dani Carvajal believes the incident won’t influence Benzema ahead of his side’s upcoming UCL match.

“Karim is a key player on and off the pitch,” Carvajal said. “I don’t think Karim is influenced by scoring or missing a penalty.

“He would go away unhappy, but he is above it all. For us he is indispensable, the best in his position

“He’s irreplaceable, there’s no one like him. Hopefully he can score two or three goals and that penalty will be behind him.”