'It Was My Fault': Real Madrid Starlet Defends Zinedine Zidane's Decision to Use Him Sparingly

Real Madrid forward Marco Asensio has come to the defence of his manager Zinedine Zidane after being asked whether the Frenchman's decision to drop him from the Real starting lineup earlier in the season was unfair or not. 

Speaking to Cadena SER, via Managing Madrid, Asensio responded to a question regarding the supposed unfairness of Zidane's decision: 

“That [unfair] is not the word. It was my fault and my responsibility when I was out of the team. The form of the team was not so good and I did not have so many minutes."

However, Asensio has recently been given more game time, becoming a regular starter. The Spaniard commented on Zidane's choice to start him more often: 

“Now he is giving me confidence. I think that both in attack and in defence we are more compact and we have to continue like this and maintain this line. We are in a very good place.” 

JAVIER SORIANO/GettyImages

Asensio also gave a comparison of his role with the Spanish national team with his one at Madrid: 

“I’m more of a winger for Spain while in Madrid I can impact the game behind the strikers too, having a bit more freedom."

The 22-year-old has made 24 appearances in La Liga this season - including 14 starts - which is especially impressive considering the amount of world class talent Real Madrid have at their disposal. 

He has also been relatively prolific in Zidane's Los Blancos side, scoring eight goals and providing five assists across all competitions. This is great in comparison to last season where he only netted six goals and contributed three assists. 

Asensio has been named in Spain's 24-man squad for their upcoming friendlies against Germany and Argentina. It is expected that the playmaker will be brought to the World Cup due to his form with Real. He already has eight caps to his name and has won the UEFA European Under-19 Championship for his country. 

The attacker will look to impress in Julen Lopetegui's side to secure a place in the Spanish World Cup squad.