Zidane has always been a great defender of rotations, but this time he has changed his roadmap at a time when the course was very uphill for Real Madrid. Four games in which the team played half a season and the French coach himself was at the center of the debate. Zizou He found the formula: trust his eleven type.
In the last four games (Sevilla, Mönchengladbach, Atlético and Athleti) there are eight players who have repeated in the eleven: Courtois, Lucas Vázquez, Varane, Mendy, Modric, Kroos, Benzema and Vinicius. The three remaining places were also defined: they are for Carvajal, Ramos and Casemiro. The right-back missed two games due to injury, the captain one and the Brazilian one due to suspension. That is, forced rotations.
Nacho was the replacement for Ramos, while Rodrygo was the owner of the far right when Lucas had to occupy the side (Zidane did not have Odriozola, who is Carvajal's natural replacement and has been available in all four games). Finally, Valverde played Casemiro against Athletic. There the circle closes with the exception of Asensio, who has not started in any of the four games but is the only one who has come off the bench in all. Success, resounding: full of victories.
The problem for Zidane, who has always been a supporter of rotations, is that the difference between starters and substitutes is increasing. The defense is very defined (Carvajal, Varane, Ramos and Mendy) and in the midfield there are four for three places (Casemiro, Kroos, Modric and Valverde). In attack Benzema is non-negotiable and so is Hazard when he recovers. Therefore, there would be a place for four: Lucas Vázquez, Asensio, Rodrygo and Vinicius. Conclusion: there are nine of the eleven sites of the alignment defined and few choose them. Marcelo, Isco, Militao or Jovic, among others, have been very off the hook. That successful formula of Plan B in the year of the double, in 2016-17, is far from being repeated …