Casillas performance hard to ignore for Ancelotti

Iker Casillas' first half kick save of a Claudio Marchisio header showed that he still has the goods to be Real's No. 1.One swallow doesn't make a summer but Iker Casillas's performance in a rare outing for Real Madrid against Juventus will do his chances of a first-team recall no harm at all.

San Iker, limited to only cup appearances in the Champions League and Copa del Rey while Diego Lopez currently holds the No. 1 jersey in La Liga, was credited with playing a big part in all-but sealing Los Blancos' progression to the knockout stages with a 2-2 draw in Turin on Tuesday night.

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Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale got on the scoresheet -- again -- for Madrid in Italy, and the former levelled the most number of goals scored by a player in the group stages with eight with two games still to play. But it was Casillas who saved Madrid's bacon on more than one occasion to ensure Carlo Ancelotti, and his assistant Zinedine Zidane, left their former club with a hard-earned point.

The stand-out save came in the first half when, with the game all-square, the 32-year-old produced a remarkable reflex save to deny Claudio Marchisio. It was typical Casillas, with an outstretched leg turning the ball over the bar when it looked certain to hit the back of the net. It was one of those saves that is almost as good as a goal at the other end. The Spanish No. 1 may be a little rusty with competitive matches currently being few and far between, but it didn´t show in that moment.

It was a vintage save from the Madrid fan favourite, but there were still a few instances of a lack of regular match action coming to the fore. He looked indecisive from a couple of corner kicks and opted to push a few shots away when they looked just as comfortable to hang on to, notably from Carlos Tevez. That will probably just boil down to warming the bench and wanting to be better safe than sorry with the latter, however.

Marchisio was also denied on two other occasions and Casillas had to be alert to stop Pepe from scoring an embarrassing own goal. Juve lashed 24 shots on goal, 12 on target and Casillas could do little with Arturo Vidal's penalty just before half-time, or Fernando Llorente's equaliser, with the usually dependable Raphael Varane at fault for letting his man go. On the whole, this was the Casillas who should be featuring every week on the pitch, and not in the dugout.

Ancelotti noticed and remarked post-match: "He played a very good game," he told Canal Plus. "He was decisive and made two great saves in the first half. For him it is easy to not play every game, but he is ready to do it and that means he's very professional." Juve boss Antonio Conte agreed: "Iker Casillas was man of the match in my view and saved Real Madrid on several occasions."

Madrid return to the bread and butter of La Liga on Saturday when Real Sociedad visit the Bernabeu fresh off the back of a 0-0 stalemate against Manchester United in San Sebastian that leaves their Champions League qualification hopes in the balance. The likelihood is that Lopez will return between the sticks, despite Casillas's much-admired performance, and that will be a tough pill to swallow after Tuesday night's heroics.

What it also does is put the pressure on his competition. One slip-up, that's all it takes. Carletto has been pretty definite in his rotation policy so far this season and that won´t change anytime soon, but one error from Lopez and Casillas could get his chance to return on a more permanent basis.

"I'm happy, I don't think that it is straight forward to get to be able to play now and whenever there's a chance I have to be at my best for the coach to be confident in me," Casillas said post-Juve. "It is hard to stay focused playing every two weeks but with help from the whole team it is easier to do well."

Casillas has always been the model professional after Jose Mourinho made the shock decision to drop him from the first team last season. Despite remaining Vicente del Bosque's preferred option in goal for the World Cup holders, the shot-stopper went months without pulling on the Madrid jersey and there was a sense he could be forced to look for action elsewhere with the World Cup in Brazil edging closer and with Victor Valdes, Casillas's international competition, playing week-in and week-out.

Tuesday's performance in Turin may not see San Iker back as No. 1 on Saturday for Madrid, but more of the same will make him hard to ignore for Ancelotti, especially with the expected praise and clamor for a first-team slot from Madridistas.