Zidane's plan B in attack

Marco Asensio is the emergency 'nine' for Zidane. A role that is not new for the Balearic, who has played as a 'false nine' in the past both in Real Madrid and in the National Team. It is a demarcation in which Zizou He intends to use him at certain moments of the season for a simple reason: he considers him to be one of the footballers with the most goals on his squad.

The white '11' has not yet released his scoring account this season, although it is a factor that does not worry the French coach. You know it is a matter of time because you are creating opportunities. That is why against Villarreal, with the match tied, he pulled him to replace Mariano in the final minutes.

Although he has other options for that demarcation of 'false nine' when he does not use Benzema, Jovic or Mariano, Zidane sees Asensio ahead of others like Vinicius or Rodrygo. He believes that Brazilians can give more hits to the bands, while Marco does have that ability to read the movements between the center-backs, despite the fact that, obviously, the Balearic Islands' preferred option is also the band.

Marco's numbers under Zidane's orders prove him right: in 2016-17 he was the team's 6th top scorer (10 goals) despite being 17th in minutes. The next year, he got even better: 4th top scorer (11 goals, only surpassed by Cristiano, Bale and Benzema) although in number of minutes he ranked 13th.

With Benzema between cottons and Jovic ruled out for his positive in coronavirus, Zidane could even use this resource in the 'final' this Wednesday against Inter in the Champions League. The logical thing is that Asensio is a starter, as has been customary in all decisive matches this season, but it remains to be seen if on the right wing … or on the front.