Asensio stakes his claim for place in Madrid's starting XI
Young Real Madrid star Marco Asensio reinforced his claim for a spot in Zinedine Zidane's starting lineup once again, scoring twice in their comeback against Real Betis on Sunday.
The stats speak for themselves. Marco Asensio performs much better when he plays from the start of a game than when he comes on as a substitute. 80 per cent of his goals and assists this season have come when the Spaniard had a spot in the starting lineup, and they have almost always been important contributions.
His two goals against Real Betis on Sunday have once again raised the question of whether Zidane shoud give him a regular starting spot for 'Los Blancos'. The 22 year old has showed that he is a big game player, and his candidacy as an alternative to the 'BBC' for Real's game against Paris Saint-Germain is becoming more and more persuasive.
In the 18 games where Asensio has been handed a start, Real Madrid have won 14, drawn 3 and lost just 1. In these games he has managed to provide nine goals and three assists, stats that put forward a convincing argument that he deserves to start regularly.
Even more so when Real Betis head coach Quique Setien revealed after Sunday's game that he would have "preferred" his side to "play against Madrid's 'BBC'" than the Spanish midfielder and his team-mate Lucas Vazquez, which is difficult to comprehend.
The game at the Parc des Princes is just around the corner, and Asensio is definitely knocking on the door. Ultimately Zidane will have the final word, although he has shown that he's not afraid to veer away from his 'BBC', starting Isco instead of Gareth Bale in the first leg against PSG, so who knows...