On Sunday night, Real Madrid overcame their injury problem and defeated Cádiz 3-0, with Rodrygo emerging as the game’s hero despite not being selected to start. The Brazilian scored the first two goals after being added to the lineup at the last minute, giving him six goals from his last six games and thereby ending his goal drought. This one has a lot to say, which is what we do in this section with three questions and three replies.

Three queries
1. Is Rodrygo prepared to leave?

Due to his Brazil commitments, Rodrygo returned later in the week, and Carlo Ancelotti started him on the bench. Brahim was intended to start straight away with Joselu instead. Unfortunately, Brahim’s illness forced him to withdraw from the starting lineup just before kickoff, and Rodrygo was substituted in. Could the Brazilians capitalize on this occasion to the fullest extent possible? Indeed. The game’s MVP was Rodrygo. He was simply troublesome for Joseba Zaldua the entire game, assisted Bellingham with ease, and scored two beautiful goals on his own. It’s amazing to imagine that Rodrygo nearly didn’t start this match considering how excellent he was.

2. Would Kroos and Modrić make a good combination?

Since the German and Croatian had only started one other game together this season—the derby loss to Atlético—Carlo Ancelotti has obviously given up on the Modrić and Kroos combination. But the two veterans had to start this game together because of their numerous injuries. How would one go about doing that? Well, everything went perfectly well. With Modrić and Kroos beginning together, Cádiz, one of the weaker teams in the division and the team with the least amount of possession, was unable to take advantage of these advantages. In addition, Bellingham and Valverde worked incredibly hard to cover a lot of ground. It was effective to play both Kroos and Modrić in this game. However, that does not imply that will continue to be the case in subsequent fixtures.

3. Who would prevail in the brothers’ fight?

In this game, there was a sibling rivalry between Nacho and his brother, Álex Fernández. Naturally, the Real Madrid captain prevailed over his younger brother in the match. With this triumph, Nacho has now prevailed in four of his seven career meetings with his brother, with two draws and only one loss for the center back.

Three queries
1. Is Lunin still the starting goalie?

Once again, Lunin was in goal due to Kepa’s injury, and he performed admirably. The Ukrainian not only produced a few spectacular saves, but he also showed good box command by gathering nearly every cross. Kepa’s return is rapidly approaching; therefore, Ancelotti must make a major choice. As excellent as Kepa has been, Lunin has also delivered strong work when needed. Furthermore, Lunin has superior control over his penalty area than Kepa does. Should the Ukrainian remain in the starting lineup?

2. To what extent is Modrić injured?

The sole drawback from this match was Luka Modrić’s limping departure during the second half, possibly due to a muscular injury. The Croatian put on a strong display, so that raises concerns and adds to the long list of injuries for Real Madrid. We’ll have to wait and see if the midfield player will have to miss any games due to the severity of the injury.

3. When playing Napoli, how much should Real Madrid rotate?

Real Madrid has thus far weathered the opening match of its injury crisis. Next up in the Champions League is Napoli at home. Even though winning the group is crucial, it’s vital to remember that Los Blancos lead the Italians by five points already, so the midweek match should truly be seen as a chance to rest players, especially considering how thin the roster is at the moment. Rotations are required on Wednesday because the next La Liga game is at home against Granada, a team that may benefit from new management. This game is perhaps far more significant than the Napoli encounter. How much will Ancelotti really rotate during the week, though? That’s the query.