Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has said that both Toni Kroos and Luka Modric were simply rested for Sunday's La Liga contest with Athletic Bilbao.
Kroos and Modric were notable absentees from the Los Blancos XI at San Mames, with Dani Ceballos, Eduardo Camavinga and Federico Valverde featuring as the midfield three.
Modric was eventually introduced in the 73rd minute, while Kroos came on for Ceballos five minutes from time.
Kroos added to an effort from Karim Benzema to secure a 2-0 victory for the Spanish champions, which has left them two points behind division leaders Barcelona in the table.
Ancelotti has said that Kroos and Modric 'needed a rest', while Ceballos was deserving of a start due to his performance off the bench against Villarreal in the Copa del Rey last week.
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"I didn't want to take any risks with Kroos as it's important to keep a lot of players motivated at this stage of the season," Ancelotti told reporters.
"Ceballos and [Marco] Asensio both deserved to play after their performances against Villarreal and Kroos needed the rest after playing a lot of games.
"Luka could also have played because he's trained very well, but I preferred to rest him too. We competed well and defended very strongly."
Ancelotti was also full of praise for Nacho, who made just his second La Liga start of the campaign against Athletic, with Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez currently on the sidelines through injury.
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"Nacho can play at right-back, centre-back or left-back. He always performs, he leads by example and he's a player every manager would want in their team. The players who've had less playing time are contributing a lot at the moment," said the Italian.
"I mean Nacho, Ceballos, Asensio and Camavinga. This gives us confidence going forward because it's non-stop and the games come thick and fast.
"It's tough to get points here. Last year we did well, but we were beaten in the cup. The atmosphere here's terrific, but it's very difficult. We managed the game well, we had to dig deep and battle."
Real Madrid will now switch their attention to the Copa del Rey, as they prepare to take on rivals Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals of the competition on Thursday night.
Matt Law
