After dominating the La Liga tournament, Real Madrid is looking to take advantage of their momentum in their succeeding Champions League matches. With Manchester City coming up as an opponent, certain stars such as Marco Asensio are expected to step up for Los Blancos.
The story of Asensio has had its ups and downs in the past few years. The 24-year-old is seen as one of the more promising players of Real Madrid until he suffered a major back in 2019. The two-time Spanish Champion suffered a major knee injury as he tore his ACL. This sidelined him for a considerable time until he made his return after the coronavirus suspension where he tallied a goal and an assist against Valencia.
The emphatic return of Asensio only shows the potential he has for Zinedine Zidane and the rest of the squad. With the upcoming match against Manchester City, Real Madrid would need all the offensive firepower they can get from key players such as Asensio. Combine his speed matched with the agility he possesses with the ball proves to be a problem for his opponents. It will be crucial for Zidane to get quality production from Asensio given how much the Spanish scorer can facilitate the right-wing, per Fansided’s The Real Champs.
In 144 appearances for Real Madrid, Asensio has already scored 30 times to go along with 20 assists. With passing as one of his key strengths, having him play a major role in the upcoming matches will be crucial for Real Madrid in the Champions League. Boasting a pass success rate of 87.6%, Asensio is one of the key players Zidane can rely on in terms of their offense.
The manner of how Zidane’s players excelled has helped the veteran manager notch his 11th trophy for the club in the recently concluded La Liga tournament. The seasoned coaching style of Zidane has also led to multiple Champions League success and they’re not looking to stop anytime soon. With three straight titles from 2016-2018, Real Madrid will have their eyes set for another trophy in for their historic organization.
It will be expected that names such as Karim Benzema to take over but it will also be interesting to see how Asensio can maintain his steady rise as one of Real Madrid's best.