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Real Madrid are on a five-game winning streak in all competitions and have reached their best form of the season in the run-up to Christmas.
League victories over Sevilla, Atlético de Madrid, Athletic Club and Eibar have led the club to climb the La Liga rankings to second place and ahead with their city neighbor, Atleti, who have played two fewer games.
However, a report in Diario AS has described how Los Blancos need not use their 25-man squad in that race with a core group of 12 players being used more than anyone else with Zinedine Zidane showing which players he values above all others. .
Thibaut Courtois, Raphael Varane, Ferland Mendy, Toni Kroos and Karim Benzema have played every minute, while Lucas Vázquez (435 minutes) and Luka Modric (430) are also regulars in a winning streak that dominates Real Madrid today.
Real Madrid’s French striker Karim Benzema celebrates after scoring a goal during the Spanish league soccer match between SD Eibar and Real Madrid CF at the Ipurua stadium in Eibar on December 20, 2020 (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA / AFP) (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA / AFP via Getty Images)
Sergio Ramos and Casemiro have also played every minute of the four matches that were available for the national team, while Vinicius Junior has appeared in 306 minutes, only missing the trip to Eibar due to illness.
Athletic de Bilbao’s Spanish defender Oscar De Marcos (L) challenges Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior during the Spanish league soccer match between Real Madrid CF and Athletic Club de Bilbao at Alfredo di Stefano stadium in Madrid on December 15, 2020 (Photo by OSCAR DEL). POZO / AFP) (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP via Getty Images)
There have also been Dani Carvajal -who has returned from an injury- and Rodrygo Goes, but other players such as Marco Asensio, Nacho Fernández and Fede Valverde have fallen from the limelight.
Nine first-team players haven’t played anything in this time span, including defenders Eder Militao, Marcelo and Alvaro Odriozola.
