Zinedine Zidane Talks Isco, James Rodriguez, More After Real Madrid Beat Getafe

Real Madrid misfits Isco and James Rodriguez have the full backing of manager Zinedine Zidane after both players scored in Saturday's 5-1 thumping of local rivals Getafe.

The pair joined BBC strike force Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo on the scoresheet, and Zidane was eager to express his satisfaction with their contributions, per ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan:

The display was particularly promising for Rodriguez, who has now scored in back-to-back league games for the first time since August, rewarding Zidane for the recent faith shown in his abilities.

Isco has also entered an improved patch of form after recording three assists and scoring two goals in his last six Primera Division appearances, per Transfermarkt, leaving Zidane content with Saturday's result:

It's recently been suggested both Isco and Rodriguez, who arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2013 and 2014, respectively, could be among those players set to leave the capital outfit this summer.

The Daily Mail's Pete Jenson recently reported the duo could depart had Los Blancos exited the Champions League at Wolfsburg's hands in midweek. Even though Real emerged as 3-2 victors in the European quarter-final, those doubts may still linger.

Rodriguez has now made 19 starts across all competitions after recovering from injury at the start of the season, while Isco has managed 28 starts, with 20 of those coming in La Liga.

Spanish newspaper AS even elected Rodriguez as man of the match for his performance against Getafe, which undoubtedly rose his profile among the Bernabeu faithful:

Although Isco and Rodriguez each arrived in the Spanish capital for sizeable figures—€30 million and €80 million, respectively—recent indecision in their futures has arisen as a result of their lack of prominence.

However, Isco's father, Paco Alarcon, recently told Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb his son wishes to remain at the Bernabeu (h/t Football Italia): "Yes, there is interest from Juventus. The Bianconeri are tracking him, but for now there have been no official offers. My son is focused only on ending the year well with Real Madrid, where he would like to stay next season too. He is already at one of the top clubs in the world."

Lalo R. Villar/Associated Press

Zidane can't ask much more of his players than to perform as hoped when they're afforded chances in his starting setup, with both Isco and Rodriguez doing just that on Saturday.

Their standing at the Bernabeu can only improve as long as they continue to do so, with the manager happy to see even those less exalted stars thriving under his command.