Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has talked up his former teammate Eden Hazard ahead of the clash with Real Madrid next week.
Salah, 28, gave another heavily-discussed interview with another Spanish media outlet.
Next Tuesday’s quarter-final pits the Reds against Zinedine Zidane’s team for the first time since Kyiv, where Sergio Ramos’ tussle with Salah, Loris Karius’s mistakes and arguably the greatest goal ever in a European Cup final shaped up a highly eventful game.
In an interview with Marca, Salah talked in detail about the influence – or lack of – from Hazard, who in 2019 completed a £130 million (Sky Sports) move from Chelsea to Real Madrid.
It’s really been downhill for the Belgium national team captain ever since he made the transition from the Premier League to La Liga.
The 30-year-old has played just 36 times for Los Blancos and is yet to complete 90 minutes of football in 2020/21.
All manner of injuries have seriously hindered his progress since the La Liga champions broke their record transfer fee.
His latest problem will rule him out of Madrid’s next Champions League tie against Liverpool as well as a potential reunion with former teammate, Salah.
When quizzed on whether or not this Madrid side was worse than the one that played the Reds in the 2018 final, Salah said: “It’s different. They’ve lost some great players, like Cristiano Ronaldo – the best in the club’s history, someone that scored so many goals.
“At the same time, they’ve signed (Eden) Hazard. Eden’s been unlucky, he’s been injured… But it’s a different team.”
Salah also added: “Hazard. I have a great relationship with him, he did very well at Chelsea, but he’s not getting any luck at the moment.”
While Hazard may be forced to miss out, Salah will arrive in the Spanish capital with a point to prove. He has scored in each of his previous three Champions League matches.