Ceballos' 'sorpasso' drives Benzema in the hunt for Raúl

One of

's many virtues is that he is honest with his squad.

The technician knows how to rectify and reward those who make an effort in the daily task.

After the superb performances of

and

in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey at the Villarreal stadium, he had to tweak the plans initially planned.

Both had earned a place in the starting team and the Italian had no qualms about modifying his approaches and allowed the Andalusian and the Spaniard to jump from the start in the challenge against Athletic, even if it meant putting

and

on the bench .

of the substitutes in the middle of the season.

An excellent resource to feed the necessary rotations in a course full of commitments.

"Ceballos has had a lot of personality. He has been well positioned, with and without the ball.

. We need everyone and for those who are injured to recover," Ancelotti said after the match at San Mamés. "In this occasion we have been solid, with a block well done.

We have not given away anything and we have won", added the Italian.

Until this Sunday, Ceballos only had nine games in the League, with only 244 minutes played.

In total this season: 16 games, one goal and 442 minutes.

presented Marco Asensio: 11 games in the League, 21 in total, three goals and 662 minutes.

Now, the situation has changed and Ceballos expects the favorable winds to continue.

''I came from this well in the comeback against Villarreal.

I had to provide energy and desire against Athletic in a match that was not easy.

The

has given me the opportunity and

,'' said the midfielder, who ends his contract in June and would like to continue at the Bernabéu

with a rejuvenated midfield

.

The whites appeared under the pressure of knowing Barcelona's short victory against Getafe.

A stumble would mean moving away from the head by six points.

Faced with this demand, Ceballos (backed up by

, acting as a pivot) took over from the center line, opening the game with long moves and closing the gaps opened by Sancet and

.

The man from Utrera started the action that generated the goal scored by

.

Asensio also intervened in the play.

Excellent performance from the new couple.

The Spaniard spent 72 minutes on the field, he was replaced by Modric.

The Andalusian remained 85 minutes, relieved by

.

The German scored the second goal and stopped the Bilbao offensive in the last stretch, with the entry of Muniain and

.

Benzema opened the scoring against a rival that seems very favorable for him and his team.

San Mamés is a friendly fiefdom for Real Madrid.

In the League they have not lost there for eight years (six wins, two draws).

In the Copa del Rey they lost in the match played last year.

The French striker, who has scored six goals in seven games

, is one of the most feared strikers for Athletic.

The Frenchman has 17 goals in 26 league matches with the Biscayan club.

Some revenues only surpassed by Messi (18 goals in 27 games).

In San Mamés he has already scored six times.

Benzema has equaled

as the fifth player (second in the Madrid ranking) with the most goals in the League: 228. Only Messi (474),

(311),

(252) and

(234) are ahead.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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• Leo Messi

• Real Madrid

• Luka modric

• Getafe

• Barcelona

• Marco Asensio