It's true to say that as a defensive pairing, Nacho and Raphael Varane are enjoying one of their best moments at Real Madrid, the wall that they've built in front of Keylor Navas proving impenetrable for 360 minutes.
Their latest victims were Sevilla, in the first leg of the Copa del Rey, despite the fine attacking game that Jorge Sampaoli had the Andalusians playing.
Both the visit to the Estadio Vicente Calderon, where the level of their performance was such that Antoine Griezmann and Co. were marked out of the game, to the Club World Cup against Mexican side America, Nacho and Varane have been immaculate.
At the beginning of the season, there was a period of 10 games across all competitions where Real couldn't keep a clean sheet but that particular streak ended against Leganes... when the centre-back pairing were Nacho and Varane.
Since then, Madrid haven't conceded in LaLiga if both are playing.
The only occasion on which Madrid's backline were breached, when they were in the starting XI, was the visit to Legia in Warsaw.
Three goals conceded in what was perhaps the worst collective performance of the campaign.
The coach himself admitted that the fault of the defensive disaster was not exclusive to the defenders but the applied intensity of the whole team.
Bearing in mind that the campaign started with Ramos and Pepe as undisputed starters in the defence, the Portuguese's injury has let in the Frenchman - who has grabbed his chance with both hands.
Indeed, Varane would now be regarded as the first choice ahead of, a potentially outgoing, Pepe.