Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr. 'Very Similar' to Eden Hazard, Says Thibaut Courtois

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has said that Vinicius Junior reminds him of his former Chelsea team-mate Eden Hazard. 

Vinicius, 18, has become a regular fixture in the first team since the turn of the year and put in a fine performance on Sunday, per football writer Sid Lowe, scoring Real's second as they beat Alaves 3-0 in La Liga:

After the victory, which moved Real to within eight points of league leaders Barcelona, Courtois heaped praise on the young Brazilian, per Marca (h/t Football Espana):

"Yes he does remind me of someone—Eden Hazard. He has so much self-confidence and belief at his age, and he plays boldly and without fear, so they are very similar. This victory is important because they defend well and are a tough opponent, so we are happy.

"We are now in a good run of form but we are happy to be in a winning run, we have won every game since Real Sociedad and even then we deserved to win. Now there is an important run of games … the Copa, the game against Atletico [on Saturday] and the Champions League [against Ajax next week]."

Sonia Canada/Getty Images

Vinicius joined Real in the summer along with Courtois, who left Chelsea after four seasons as the Blues' No. 1.

Both endured rocky starts to their Real careers, not least because the team as a whole were struggling for form and Julen Lopetegui was sacked in October.

Things have started to come together for the European champions under Santiago Solari in 2019.

They have won five on the bounce in all competitions and could potentially get back in the La Liga title race if they keep on winning.

On Wednesday, Real take on Barcelona in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final at the Camp Nou.

A 5-1 drubbing at the hands of the Catalan giants marked the end of Lopetegui's ill-fated tenure earlier this season.

But Real should go into Wednesday's game with confidence given their recent form.