Take a load off, Ronaldo

Posted Thursday, November 13, 2014 by Marca.com

Ancelotti's programme points to the fact that his schedule for resting players will apply to all, including James, the only one not to have missed a single match so far, and even Ronaldo, who will also be given some downtime. The latter is a done deal, previously agreed between the Portuguese player and his coach - something which both have publicly confirmed. CR7 is on good form, but he has accepted he will have to take a break.

It was Isco's turn on Saturday but he will not be the only Real Madrid player to warm the bench over the coming matches. Bale's return resulted in the Spanish international being sidelined, but the Italian coach is emphatic that rotations and substitutions for certain games will not solely be reserved for the midfielder, as was the case last season.

Ancelotti believes that, as of now, the time has come to share the load, to manage minutes, and the inclusion of players such as Isco, Varane and Javier Hernández in this distribution of playing time will not affect the performance of the starting line up, a unit that has found the exact balance sought by the Real Madrid coach.

At present, the Italian has 13 regular starters plus the less frequent but highly effective contributions of Hernández, Arbeloa and Nacho. Illarramendi and Khedira are second in line for back up, with the midfield position the one causing the Real coach most concern and the Basque and German the two players currently under the biggest question mark.