Eden Hazard failed to make the most of a rare La Liga start in a goalless draw against Cadiz as Real Madrid missed the chance to restore their eight-point lead at the top of the table.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team were strong favourites to claim a win against the relegation-threatened visitors to the Santiago Bernabeu despite a number of Covid-19 cases at the capital club, but Cadiz fought hard for a share of the points.
A flat first half saw few opportunities created with Hazard a peripheral figure. Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior gave Real Madrid a threat around the penalty box, but Cadiz defended well for the opening period.
Real Madrid upped the tempo of their play in the second half with Vinicius particularly lively. Luka Jovic was introduced off the bench as Ancelotti bolstered his attack, but there was to be no breakthrough.
The result sees Real Madrid move six points clear of second-place Sevilla, who beat Atletico Madrid to bolster their title hopes on Saturday, with the La Liga table-toppers set to face Athletic Club in their final game of 2021 on Wednesday.
For a long time, injuries were the thing that prevented Hazard from becoming a key figure for Real Madrid. However, the Belgian has been fully fit since the summer. Now, it’s simply the case that Hazard has been knocked down the pecking order by attackers operating at a higher level.
This was a chance for him to shake up that pecking order, but Hazard struggled to make his mark on the match.
While Real Madrid could have done more to test the opposition goalkeeper, Conan Ledesma still handled everything that the home team threw at him. Indeed, Ledesma made a number of key saves at important moments and grew in stature as the match progressed, coming off his line to claim numerous crosses.
Cadiz needed a good performance from their goalkeeper to stand a chance of a result at the Santiago Bernabeu and they got that.