James Rodriguez Must Keep Showing Tenacity as Well as Technique for Real Madrid

Real Madrid continued their winning start to the season on Sunday, as they beat Espanyol 2-0 at RCDE Stadium despite missing the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale through injury.

It means they sit top of LaLiga after four games and also that head coach Zinedine Zidane has won 16 league games in a row—equalling the top-flight record in Spain set by Pep Guardiola's Barcelona in 2010/11. A win at home to Villarreal on Wednesday would give Zidane that honour himself to go with the two trophies he has already won in less than a year in management at the highest level.

While Zidane's run started some time ago, victory in this particular fixture was secured thanks to some of the fringe players who were seeking to take their chance to play a starring role because of others' absences—in particular, Colombian James Rodriguez.

Deserved Chance

This wasn't a case of James being back in the team because of injuries elsewhere, as has been the case previously. While there were notable names missing from the teamsheet, James was in the side completely on merit; he had worked hard in his previous appearances off the bench, making an impact in more than one of those games, and he deserved the chance to step back into the starting XI.

It was a legitimate progression from sub to worthy starter rather than him simply waiting for a starting role and then seeing if he remained in place.

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James Rodriguez with Real Madrid [all competitions]:

Games: 83
Mins: 5,508
Goals: 26
Assists: 29
Mins per Goal/Assist: 100

— Real Madrid Stats (@RMadrid_Stats) September 18, 2016"

Given the chance to start, James was perhaps the single player in the team who needed to impress the most—and for his hour on the pitch, he largely did. It wasn't his or the team's best performance, but he was instrumental throughout much of Real Madrid's best work and showed the tactical and technical sides of his game have much to offer Zidane's outfit going forward.

After close to a year of scrutiny, negative headlines and suspicions he would leave the club, the past couple of weeks have been far better for the Colombian. He was quick to point out after the game that he always intended to be a part of the squad at the Santiago Bernabeu, per Didac Piferrer of Marca: "No, I have not had a hard time, as I've always wanted to stay here. I've felt everyone's support, including the coach [Zidane], whom I have a great relationship with."

Role from the Centre

With his two main wide forwards absent, Zidane opted to fall back on his early-season system, with much more clearly defined midfield roles for the wide players in a 4-1-4-1 rather than the offensive 4-3-3 deployed against Osasuna on Sept. 10. That meant a central-midfield role for James alongside Luka Modric, with Casemiro in behind.

David Ramos/Getty Images

From early on, it was evident that James was the more inclined to break forward, join up with the attack and even run beyond lone striker Karim Benzema, a theme that continued throughout his time on the pitch.

Even more noticeable, from the Colombian's point of view, was that the early injury to Casemiro saw Toni Kroos initially reprise his role of last season, playing as the deepest midfielder for Real Madrid. It shows once more how there will be a regularly available slot in the centre of the park for someone to feature; Mateo Kovacic has impressed there already, but James also took his chance against Espanyol.

His movement into the box was especially important.

@karlmatchett

On and off the ball, James was proactive and motivated, helped press high upfield to be the first line of defence for the team and contributed to creating overloads by not just sticking to the left side of the pitch, instead happy to dart to the right and play quick, incisive passes to link play with Modric, Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez.

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[Video] Goal by James Rodriguez against Espanyol. 0 - 1 https://t.co/JWgq3wzn0b #RealMadrid #LaLiga

— Real Madrid Report (@RealMadridRep) September 18, 2016"

Of course, it serves to boost both confidence and outside awareness of the player when he makes an even more telling contribution, and the breakthrough goal was just reward for James' endeavour. 

Into Attack

The few months have seen instances of Zidane's growth as a coach, and the second half against Espanyol saw another indication of the same.

A scrappy, difficult game to control, with Madrid making a host of defensive errors that went unpunished, James' goal allowed his boss to switch to a more solid middle line with less fluidity of movement in what was effectively a 4-4-2 out of possession.

@karlmatchett

James' high position on the pitch meant he was quickly involved when his team won the ball and had freedom, whereas the two other central players, Kroos and Modric, sat deeper, helped win back possession and kept focused on preserving Madrid's lead rather than adding to it.

While there were no standout individual moments for the Colombian, he was still showing good energy and intelligent play throughout until the hour mark, when he was replaced.

Benzema netted the second goal from Lucas' low cross, but James was involved in the buildup from his high central position and created the room for Lucas to exploit.

Fight for 1 Spot

Given James was looking fine with regard to his fitness and still heavily involved in the attack, Zidane's substitutions were very much a case of rotating to keep players happy and involved: Isco for James, Alvaro Morata for Benzema.

Isco offers the biggest threat to James' game time, but the differences in their off-the-ball work rate, defensive involvement (even high upfield) and aggression in the Espanyol match were stark.

The former Malaga man has only just returned from injury, so it's not the biggest surprise that he wasn't at full capacity, but in a team with which Zidane is regularly getting results and has shown a ruthlessness in his choices, mixing talent with application is the only route to consistent minutes on the pitch.

Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez are the perfect examples of how to come from nowhere and be successful in this side, even without being a guaranteed name on the teamsheet.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Their work rate has quickly led Zidane to trust them for any given match, while their other traits—pace and selflessness for Lucas and skill, intelligence and an eye for goal from Asensio—bring more than enough to the team that the regular starters might not be missed too much.

James has looked far more focused and aggressive in the past few weeks, and the start against Espanyol was his reward—but the hard work isn't over.

This performance must be repeated, whether he's in the starting XI or comes on from the bench, to show Zidane he is capable and ready to play his part, not just technically and by scoring the odd goal but by also contributing heavily to a team that is far more tactically developed than it has been since perhaps midway through the 2014/15 campaign, Carlo Ancelotti's final season.

James deserved his chance; James took his chance, but all that earned is the next chance. Full redemption and an important role in the team is a journey of many steps, but he's certainly back on the right path.

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