Not 12 months ago, the football world were falling at the feet of Real Madrid, ready to crown them as the team who would dominate for years to come.
A first XI who were, genuinely, as good as it gets, were supplemented by their back-up players without any drop off in quality.
Zinedine Zidane termed the likes of Isco, Alvaro Morata, James Rodriguez and others as his ‘Plan B,’ preferring not to differentiate between starters and, effectively, reserves.
Since the summer, and the departures of Morata and James particularly, Zidane’s plans have been thrown into disarray.
His first XI are in the midst of the biggest crisis of confidence most of the players will have suffered in their careers and, rather than bring through his ‘Plan B’ cast, as would’ve been the case last year, Zidane’s preference has been to stick with his tried and tested and let them work through their collective bad patch.
However, we’ve only seen flickers of what Los Blancos brought to the party in 2016/17.
Against Leganes in the Copa del Rey, the Frenchman changed tack and started Dani Ceballos, Theo Hernandez, Jesus Vallejo, Marcos Llorente and Borja Mayoral.
Vallejo’s early injury wasn’t in the script and two of the other three were subbed off, having not quite made the impact expected. With limited minutes under their belts this term, that’s hardly a surprise.
Ceballos in particular must be miffed at his treatment since his summer move from Real Betis. Warned by former coach Quique Setien that he’d need to bide his time, yet assuaged by Zidane that he was the long-term successor to Luka Modric, the midfielder is already making noises with regards to wanting out.
On the night, only Marco Asensio’s sweet 89th-minute effort separated the sides, and in truth that was harsh on Leganes who were comfortable for the most part.
So, potentially a run out in a very winnable second leg, but what next for Real’s second string?
‘Every game is a final’ is something being spouted from within the walls of the Santiago Bernabeu on a regular basis now, and we all know that you play your best teams in finals.
If Real follow that pattern, the 2017/18 campaign may be all but over for a handful of squad players.
Players who signed on the basis of regular deployment.
Players who are highly likely to tread the same path as Morata and James if the status quo doesn’t change.
With the league virtually gone already, Zidane can at least help himself by throwing them back in on a more regular basis.
