Zinedine Zidane made nine changes heading into Real Madrid's weekend clash against Sporting Gijon, but one thing that remained consistent both throughout the game and afterwards has been the clamouring for Isco to nail down a starting place.
The 24-year-old struck twice in a thriller in Estadio El Molinon, in the same week that he wasn't deemed necessary for a Champions League victory against Bayern Munich, either side of a Mikel Vesga goal that had threatened to take two points from Los Blancos.His first outlined the technical side of his game.
Picking possession up in a tight squeeze inside the penalty area, he used a neat, improvised flick to beat one defender, before taking two quick touches to put the ball across his body and onto his left foot.
A tidy finish into the top corner capped the move.As the clock ticked down, Real Madrid found themselves in the not so rare situation of needing to find a late goal, with no answers appearing to be forthcoming from their forward line.
Alvaro Morata had struck, but didn't lead the line with true authority, with Mariano Diaz also not appearing to be the answer having been brought off the bench.
With one substitution left to make, Zidane made the perhaps unusual decision to inject Casemiro into the fray. Toni Kroos was available, providing expertise in set-piece delivery, the usual last roll of the dice of Real Madrid this campaign. But the German midfielder was not called upon, as the visitors hinted at the fact that their winning goal would not come from open play.
Instead, faith was kept in the existing forward line, the players that had thus far failed to come up with the invention to put the away side into the clear with three points in hand.
Faith was kept in a man who hasn't necessarily been the first name on the team sheet.Often this season, late goals have felt more of an inevitability with Real Madrid than perhaps with any other LaLiga outfit.
Sergio Ramos has become the beacon of hope, the man who comes up with an alternate reality when what is happening in open play doesn't seem to be enough for the three points. This time, the captain didn't have to do the scoring, he merely had to contribute to the celebrations.
Isco picked up possession slightly off to the left-hand side, before cutting infield and using Jean-Sylvain Babin's body to shield his true intentions from Ivan Cuellar. It appeared that the ex-Malaga midfielder was going to bend a shot towards the far post, but he disguised it beautifully.His low, right-footed effort fizzed just inside the near post, with an unsighted goalkeeper diving just too late to arrive in the right place at full-stretch.
Out of nowhere, a spark of magic had unlocked a tired Sporting defence. A spark which Florentino Perez cannot allow to wriggle free of Estadio Santiago Bernabeu this season.
Isco offers an inventive, delicate presence in a team that have relied on their bruising aerial ability to get their way at times this season.
His darting dribbles into the penalty area, his deceptive body language and his finesse offer plenty of solutions which his teammates cannot.Against Sporting, the 24-year-old offered ideas, effort and execution. He should use those three in tandem in a starting role for Real Madrid next season. He is good enough for Zidane to mould his system around the Spaniard, and this weekend was just peering through a window into what the club's future could be if they start putting Isco first.
