Asensio spent his birthday on the bench

Posted Monday, January 22, 2018 by Marca.com

Despite celebrating his birthday on Sunday, Marco Asensio was forced to turn 22 from the bench with the Spaniard not used in Real Madrid's 7-1 victory over Deportivo La Coruna.

Asensio has long been heralded as the next big star at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu however his 2017/18 campaign has not quite hit the same heights as his debut year in the Spanish capital.

He has gone from being a regular starter to a rotation option despite scoring the winning goal in the midweek Copa del Rey victory over Leganes.

Instead of starting the former Real Mallorca star, Zinedine Zidane elected to give Borja Mayoral a chance to lead the line on Sunday.

Neither Isco nor Asensio were selected as the French coach made the bold call of leaving two of his most naturally gifted footballers on the sideline.

It's fitting that Asensio's birthday falls on a day when he fails to make the pitch, it forces us to remember just how young he is and how such a stall in his development is perfectly normal at the highest level.

Despite the positive comments made towards him by the former Juventus midfielder, there is an issue between player and coach as the Spaniard simply cannot find a settled position under Zidane.

Unfortunately for the youngster, such has been the disappointing performances of Los Blancos' rotation options this term, there is a collective lack of confidence from Zidane in these players.

Dani Ceballos is in somewhat of a similar situation, as is Marcos Llorente. This is a problem that only the players can resolve by taking their chances when they arrive, something very few have done this term.

Karim Benzema's return leaves even fewer spaces in the team for players to occupy. Zidane adores his senior players and will always give preference to them in his team selection, this isn't the 2016/17 season, he can no longer rotate with confidence or regularity.

For Asensio, he has a great career in Madrid ahead of him, he mustn't become frustrated, he must develop, improve and then take his chance when it comes.