This article is part of Football FanCast's In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets...

Real Madrid were successful in claiming all three points over the weekend when La Liga returned after the international break.

And it was really a hard-fought victory for Zinedine Zidane and Los Blancos who, at one point in the game, had a 3-0 victory seemingly in the bag.

But Levante's second-half heroics took them to the brink of salvaging a point at Santiago Bernabeu after clawing their way back to end the game 3-2. A seemingly certain victory almost turned into a catastrophe for the Galacticos.

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Luckily for Los Blancos, Karim Benzema's brace and Casemiro's effort in the first half were enough to see the game through, regardless of the second half slips.

But one other player, in particular, had a brilliant game and showed Zidane what he's capable of when given a proper chance.

The 28-year-old James Rodriguez returned to Madrid in the summer, having spent some time in Germany, at Bayern Munich, on loan. And for that reason, it seemed like there would be no place for the Colombia international in the squad.

Or at least, everything was pointing towards that until the clash against Levante. But now, James has certainly given Zidane some food for thought going forward.

Not only did he register an assist but he also tallied a game-highest five key passes along with four out of five attempted long balls and two out of two through balls.

But that wasn't all; he also attempted seven crosses, three tackles and warranted an 8.11 rating according to Whoscored's rankings for the game.

This was James' second brilliant performance in the new 2019/20 La Liga season since his return from Bayern Munich. The first time around, he got a standing ovation from Santiago Bernabeu following his display against Valladolid.

If he continues like this in the future, Zidane might face another conundrum: how to get James into his starting line-up when everybody is fit and available.

The 28-year-old certainly deserves his selection after this showing.

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