The FC crew praise Cristiano Ronaldo for his leadership, particularly with Karim Benzema, as Real Madrid's captain in their win over Alaves. This week's Player Power Rankings see La Liga dominate across the board, with Luis Suarez's hat trick and two assists topping the list. Craig Burley and Ross Dyer examine PSG's squad depth ahead of their clash with Real Madrid in the aftermath of Neymar's ankle injury. Real Madrid's Zinedine Zidane admits he never wants to see a player injured and hopes Neymar will return for the UCL round of 16 second leg.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been rested for Tuesday's La Liga trip to Espanyol, as coach Zinedine Zidane continues to keep the 33-year-old fresh ahead of next week's Champions League round-of-16 second leg at Paris Saint-Germain.
Ronaldo has scored eight times in his last two visits to Espanyol, and reached 299 La Liga goals with a double in Saturday's 4-0 La Liga win at home to Alaves. But Zidane suggested at his prematch news conference that the World Cup at the end of the season was also a reason for the Portugal captain to manage his minutes.
Tuesday morning's squad announcement confirmed Ronaldo was excused a second consecutive away game, while club captain Sergio Ramos returns from suspension and young winger Marco Asensio is available again having missed the weekend's fixture due to having had a wisdom tooth removed.
? Good morning! Here's our 19-man squad for tonight's #RMLiga match against @RCDEspanyol! #RMMovistar pic.twitter.com/YNxoKwoQqd
— Real Madrid C.F.?ﾟﾇﾸ?ﾟﾇﾧ (@realmadriden) February 27, 2018
Toni Kroos (knee), Marcelo (hamstring) and Luka Modric (hamstring) all still remain sidelined, just a week ahead of the UCL return game at the Parc des Princes. Midfielder Casemiro dropped out of the squad at the last minute due to a reported stomach problem, with Castilla youngster Oscar Rodriguez, 19, travelling instead.
Espanyol's last 20 games against Madrid have brought 17 defeats and three draws, and at his prematch news conference Espanyol coach Quique Sanchez Flores said that whatever team Zidane picked would present a big challenge, although the team's style of play was different if playmaker Isco started.
"It doesn't matter who plays," Sanchez Flores said. "We expect to face a confident, secure team... Maybe Isco changes their way of playing, more to feet, without him it is more direct, but there is no difference whether it is Asensio, Lucas [Vazquez] or [Gareth] Bale who plays."
Former Madrid player Sanchez Flores said it was not a coincidence that Madrid's form had picked up in recent weeks with Ronaldo back scoring heavily again.
"What happens with Ronaldo, happens with Madrid," he said. "When there is doubts about the team, there are doubts about Cristiano."
Dermot Corrigan is a Madrid-based football writer who covers La Liga and the Spain national team for ESPN FC. Follow him on Twitter @dermotmcorrigan
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Source: espn.co.uk