Real Madrid beat Osasuna 1-0 in Xabi Alonso's first match in charge of the club at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday.
A goal from Kylian Mbappe sealed the deal for Los Blancos, in a match that saw a great debutant in Alvaro Carreras.
There were some huge positives from that match alone, but there were some other talking points that would have definitely raised some eyebrows.
Rodrygo must not be a very happy man at Real Madrid right now
The one I am talking about is Rodrygo. The Real Madrid man did not play a single minute in Alonso's first La Liga game in charge, and that, to most fans, was a sign that maybe the player is not going to stay any further than this month.
Alonso was then obviously asked about it in the press conference after the win, and he revealed why Rodrygo did not play a single minute - or whether that meant anything.
He said: “Nothing’s happening. The Club World Cup was a different context, now behind us. I’m counting on him; it’s just a one-off game. If he’s still getting those minutes in three months, it’ll be a different story.”
He said that this was a one-off, which may ease some nerves over fans that want Rodrygo to play more and more.
However, Alonso did not actually say why it was the case. Each time he had benched Rodrygo in the Club World Cup earlier this summer, Alonso simply gave the reason of "technical decision", and went on to the next question.
This time, he said it was a one-off, but did not actually say why he did not put Rodrygo on.
It's not just that Rodrygo did not play. It is that every single Real Madrid forward that was available and in the squad played minutes apart from the Brazilian. That includes debutant Franco Mastantuono and Castilla graduate Gonzalo Garcia.
It remains to be seen what happens with the player, but he would not want to be in this situation for much longer.