Eden Hazard is realistic about the strain an injury-hit two years at Real Madrid has put on his body, as he prepares to start for the first time in Euro 2020.
Belgium boss Roberto Martinez has confirmed Hazard, who came on as a substitute in Belgium's opening Group B games – wins over Russia and Denmark – will feature from the off in Monday's match against Finland in St Petersburg.
Hazard teed up Kevin De Bruyne's sweetly struck winner against Denmark last time out, taking his tally of assists to five in seven career appearances for Belgium at the Euros. Since at least 1980, his average of an assist every 98 minutes is the best of any player to have played at least five times in the competition.
The 30-year-old showed flashes of his quality, after what has been another injury-hampered season in the Spanish capital. Across the 2020-21 season, Hazard managed just 896 minutes of game time in all competitions, making 21 appearances in total.
Of those appearances, only 11 were starts, with Hazard scoring four goals and setting up a further two, creating 10 chances in total.
Though the former Chelsea star insists he still has full belief in his abilities, injuries have started to take a toll.
"I never doubted my qualities, but whether I would be 100 per cent fit for the European Championship was going to be a question," Hazard told a news conference on Sunday.
"I broke my ankle three times, it will never be the same as 10 years ago. But I know that when I am in shape, that I can prove myself on the field and that's what I'm working on now.
"I'm not 100 per cent yet, but I'm ready to start. But that was the plan, to bring me along gradually. It's especially important to be completely fit in the knockout phase. Then I have to be in top shape."
While stating he is ready to play from the off, Hazard also conceded he may not be able to complete the match.
"We will see how the match goes, but I may not be ready for 90 minutes, but I will play as many minutes as possible at a high level," he said.
"If it is 50 minutes, it will be 50. If it is 60, it will be 60. We'll see."
While Hazard will feature against Finland, his younger brother Thorgan – who netted Belgium's equaliser against Denmark – will not.
The Borussia Dortmund wideman, who has been playing at wing-back in Martinez's 3-4-3 system, will miss out due to a knee injury.
"He's just going to miss a game," Martinez explained.
"He should be back with the squad on Thursday or Friday. He had a knee injury, nothing serious. This game against Finland just comes 24 hours too early."
Kaiserslautern 0-1 Bayer Leverkusen: Xhaka stunner seals DFB-Pokal triumph
Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen battled past second-tier Kaiserslautern 1-0 on Saturday to win the DFB-Pokal and secure the club's first domestic double.
Leverkusen missed out on a treble after losing 3-0 to Atalanta in the Europa League final on Wednesday, in what was astonishingly their first defeat of the season in all competitions, after a European record 51-game unbeaten run.
But at Berlin's Olympic stadium, which will host the Euro 2024 final in July, Xabi Alonso's side ensured they capped off a remarkable campaign with another piece of silverware thanks to Granit Xhaka's stunning 16th-minute strike.
The ball rolled out to the former Arsenal man around 25 yards out, and he planted an unstoppable first-time effort into the left-hand side of the net.
They controlled the pace even after they were reduced to 10 men following Odilon Kossounou's second booking a minute before half-time.
Kaiserslautern rarely threatened after the break, with Leverkusen limiting their opponents to just 0.2 expected goals.
And even though they could not add to their lead, Leverkusen were able to comfortably wrap up their second trophy of the best season in the club's history.
Data Debrief: Leverkusen join the club
Leverkusen are only the fifth different side to win the double in Germany since the Bundesliga was founded, after Bayern Munich (13 times), 1. Koln, Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund.
Xhaka's strike was a worthy winner. He became the first Swiss player to score in a DFB-Pokal final.
Barcelona coach Giraldez celebrates 'one of the happiest days' after Women's Champions League triumph
Barcelona coach Jonatan Giraldez celebrated "one of the happiest days" of his life after his side claimed the Women's Champions League title.
Giraldez led Barca to a 2-0 victory over fellow heavyweights Lyon in Bilbao on Saturday.
Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas got the goals in the second half, as Barca beat Lyon for the first time and won the Champions League for a third season out of the last four.
Giraldez will now leave Barca to take charge of Washington Spirit in the NWSL, but was able to leave on the highest note possible, having won a quadruple this term, becoming the first European team since Arsenal in 2007 to manage such a haul in a single campaign.
He told DAZN: "It was an incredible game, I am really happy, one of the best days of my life for sure.
"We did an amazing job with the ball, without the ball. we suffered in the last minutes, but I'm very proud of all of them."
Barcelona defender Lucy Bronze, whose future with the club is uncertain, told DAZN: "We knew that that's what we needed, to be a club to make history.
"It's not easy, it's hard to win it once. To win it back to back, Lyon showed how difficult it is and this team has finally done that. We go down in history as one of the best teams in Europe."
Barca's two Ballon d'Or winners scored their goals, with Bonmati breaking the deadlock just after the hour before Putellas lashed home in stoppage time.
"She's the captain of the team, she's the Queen of Barcelona for a reason," Bronze said of Putellas.
"She's always so confident in the team and showed today why she is a back-to-back Ballon d'Or winner.
"She's got the quality to do that in the last minute of the Champions League final when we were up against it at the end and just sealed the win for us. It was amazing."
Juventus 2-0 Monza: Departing Alex Sandro scores as Bianconeri round off with a win
Juventus completed their Serie A campaign with a comfortable 2-0 home win over Monza thanks to first-half goals from Federico Chiesa and Alex Sandro.
Juve ended their season on 71 points, third in the standings, though they can still be overtaken by Europa League champions Atalanta, who sit fifth and have two matches left to play.
Chiesa broke the deadlock after 26 minutes on Saturday and long-serving left-back Sandro, playing in his final game for the Bianconeri before departing as a free agent, doubled the lead two minutes later with a header from a corner.
Juve came close to scoring a third early in the second half, but Chiesa's attempt from the edge of the box hit the woodwork.
Thiago Motta is expected to take charge of Juve in the coming days, after his departure from Bologna was confirmed.
Monza ended the campaign in 12th place with 45 points.
Data Debrief: How's your luck?
Chiesa's effort against the frame of the goal means that, since the beginning of the last season, only Inter (36) hit the woodwork more times than Juve (35) in Serie A.
Juve will be hoping to be that bit more clinical next term as they aim to challenge for the title under Motta.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
