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After playing the last five games with Real Madrid, three of them as a starter, Asensio is once again the protagonist of Zinedine Zidane.
The wings are the most volatile positions of Zidane’s eleven, where the French coach has opted for several variants throughout the campaign so far. But at the Clásico, the first major game of the season, Zizou put his faith in Marco Asensio.
The two previous defeats led Zidane to reinforce the midfield for the Clásico, with Kroos, Modric and Valverde accompanying Casemiro. The Madrid coach relied on the formula that has given him so many successes in the past, opting to start Asensio in a position that, against Barcelona, had the added responsibility of supporting Nacho (and finally Lucas Vázquez after the injury de Nacho) to keep Jordi Alba at bay.
Zidane has a lot of confidence in Asensio. The serious injury he suffered last season prevented him from stamping his mark on one of the most competitive positions in Zidane’s team, but from which no one could claim a final grip in his absence.
Asensio takes Bale’s 11 shirt
Asensio has become the owner of jersey 11 with the departure of Bale, and the appreciation between coach and player is mutual. “We understand each other very well, almost just by looking at each other. He told me to score a goal”, revealed Asensio when talking about what Zidane told him before he entered the game against Valencia after the coronavirus sanction. It was his first comeback appearance after recovering from his horrific injury and it took him half a minute to satisfy his coach’s wish. He ended up contributing two more goals en route to Madrid’s 34th LaLiga title.
Asensio is expected to become a regular fixture in Madrid’s attacking trident alongside Hazard and Benzema, an offensive line that Real Madrid have been deprived of due to both Isco’s injury and recurring injuries to Hazard. The three have only coincided on the field for nine minutes, in the aforementioned match against Valencia that marked the return of Asensio.
The prudence that Zidane has shown when reintroducing injured players has meant that Asensio has only played 362 minutes in the last 12 games of last season after the coronavirus sanction.
In the seven games played so far this season, Marco has played 318 minutes, making him the eleventh most used player on the squad. Having played the last five games, three of them as a starter, Asensio is once again the protagonist.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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