Carlo Ancelotti says Eden Hazard is aware of exactly why he is being given so little playing time at Real Madrid this season.
Belgium international Hazard has endured a tough time of things across his three years with Madrid, mainly due to fitness reasons.
Despite largely being fit this campaign, however, the 31-year-old has started just one of Madrid's 10 matches in all competitions and has featured only twice as a substitute.
He was an unused sub in Sunday's 1-1 draw with Osasuna, with the likes of Marco Asensio and Mariano Diaz being preferred as Los Blancos chased a winning goal.
Ancelotti stood by his selection calls after the match and has reiterated ahead of Wednesday's Champions League tie with Shakhtar Donetsk that Hazard must fight for his place.
"It is clear that each player knows his situation. I have to explain to them what's going on," Ancelotti said.
"In this regard, Eden has not spoken to me. He has a lot of competition. The situation of his and others is quite clear.
"He understands the situation very well – every player understands his situation very well. There's a lot of competition here."
One player whose place in the side is not up for debate is striker Karim Benzema, who has scored four goals in seven appearances this season.
However, the France international has gone three games without finding the net, either side of a month on the sidelines, and missed a penalty in the draw with Osasuna.
But team-mate Dani Carvajal does not believe that missed spot-kick will play on Benzema's mind when Shakhtar travel to the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.
"He's a key player on and off the pitch," Carvajal said. "I don't think Karim is influenced by scoring or missing a penalty.
"He would go away unhappy, but he is above it all. For us he is indispensable, the best in his position
"He's irreplaceable, there's no one like him. Hopefully he can score two or three goals and that penalty will be behind him."
Madrid have won each of their past six games in the group stage of the Champions League, scoring 17 goals and only conceding once in the process.
They are two points ahead of unbeaten Shakhtar in Group F after two rounds of fixtures as they look to retain the European crown lifted in Paris a little over four months ago.
But Shakhtar have won two of their six ties with Madrid in the competition, with that 33 per cent win rate the fourth best of any side against the Spanish giants.
Madrid will be expected to claim a routine victory, though, and Carvajal accepts his side must live with the perennial tag of being favourites to conquer the continent again.
"We know how difficult it is to win the Champions League, I think when teams play us, they see we are in with a chance," he said.
"I don't know how it works, who decides who is favourite. I think in the top four or five, Real Madrid are there.
"I have to respect everyone's opinion. I think we've won five of the last nine, so I don't think it's down to luck."
Real Sociedad 0-1 Real Madrid: Los Blancos edge closer to LaLiga title with win
Arda Guler scored in the first half to earn a second-string Real Madrid side a 1-0 win at Real Sociedad on Friday, moving the LaLiga leaders a step closer to a record-extending 36th Spanish title.
With five games remaining, Madrid climbed to 84 points and extended their lead to 14 points over second-placed Barcelona, who have a game in hand and host Valencia on Monday.
Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti rested several key players ahead of their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich, but his side did just enough to secure the three points.
The winner came from 19-year-old Turkish midfielder Guler, making his first start for Madrid after signing from Fenerbahce, when he turned home Dani Carvajal's cross in the 29th minute.
Brazil legend Marta to retire from international football
Brazil star Marta has announced she will retire from international football at the end of 2024.
The 38-year-old is the all-time highest scorer for Brazil, netting 116 goals in 175 matches for the national team.
She is also the top-scorer in the Women’s World Cup with 17 goals, finishing as a runner-up in 2007 when Brazil lost in the final to Germany.
The forward has won three Copa America Femenina titles and was part of the Brazil team that won silver medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
Marta could make her sixth appearance for Brazil at this year's Games if she is selected in the squad at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
"If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because, regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team," Marta told CNN in an interview on Thursday.
"There will be no more Marta from 2025 in the national team as an athlete.
"I am very calm about this because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes."
Al Hilal 3-1 Al Fateh: Neves on target as Saudi giants close in on title
Al Hilal moved 12 points clear of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr at the top of the Saudi Pro League as Ruben Neves scored in a 3-1 win over Al Fateh on Friday.
Former Wolves star Neves slotted in from the penalty spot in the 74th minute, as Al Hilal completed a rapid comeback.
Having fallen behind to Lucas Zelarayan's 57th-minute opener, Al Hilal responded swiftly through Micheal before Salem Al Najdi fouled Mohammed Al Qahtani in the penalty area.
Ex-Barcelona winger Cristian Trello and Al Fateh coach Slaven Bilic were booked for their complaints, with Neves making no mistake, paving the way for Ali Al Bulayhi to seal victory in the 15th minute of an extended period of stoppage time.
Data Debrief
Al Hilal have now won 21 games on the spin in the league. They have scored 86 goals across their 28 matches this season, winning 26 in total.
They had 19 shots on Friday, accumulating 2.34 xG to Al Fateh's 0.25, with pass-master Neves creating three chances to go along with his goal.
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