These have been an interesting few days in Spanish football around the subject of how we treat our stars, what we expect them to accept, and whether we are properly protecting them. It's a morality tale that includes Kylian Mbappé, Carlo Ancelotti, Gavi and that will extend to Vinícius Júnior, and it emerged on Saturday when Spanish and European champions Real Madrid were surprisingly beaten 1-0 at relegation-threatened Espanyol.
Los Blancos have recently restored one of their most thrilling, most chilling skills: The ability to retrieve possession around their own penalty area and, via no more than three or four passes, be up at the other end of the pitch scoring a dazzling goal somewhere between 14-18 seconds later.