Carlo Ancelotti continues to prove that he is a wily old fox and that some leopards can change their spots.
Although he has virtually always stuck with a standard XI throughout his career and does not like to make substitutions until late on in the game, at this stage of the season and with the Champions League just 72 hours away, he opted for an unprecedented line-up against Eibar and made his changes earlier than ever.
And there were lots of them. Only four of his regular starters actually started: Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo. After he had made his substitutions, only two first-choice players were left: Pepe, who came on for Ramos, and Ronaldo, of course, who always plays and never gets substituted.
The replacements, although some of them play quite often (Álvaro Arbeloa, Raphaël Varane, Isco), got the job done, with some of them pushed more than others. Two men had the chance to show off their abilities: Jesé and Chicharito.
The home-grown player proved his worth with his late goal, but never looked entirely comfortable. He started on the right, switching to the left flank at times, but failed to demonstrate his true potential except in the move when he scored. That was when Jesé looked like Jesé. He showed speed and produced a good shimmy with little space to work with, followed by an even better finish.
Chicharito played a more active role. His positioning and talents were never on a par with those of Karim Benzema, even if he was supposedly playing in the same position.
With Toni Kroos suspended, Ancelotti decided not to play Lucas Silva in midfield. One of the reasons for signing the Brazilian was supposed to be that the manager does not see Illarramendi as a natural replacement for the German.
He cannot be too keen on Lucas Silva either, because he has only played one match (against Levante) as a central holding midfielder.
