The striker was an unused substitute upon his Real Madrid return as they drew in Bilbao, but the coach had a reason for not calling on him
Real Madrid head coach Julen Lopetegui says he left Mariano Diaz on the bench in a 1-1 draw at Athletic Club as he felt Gareth Bale needed to be replaced.
Mariano was among the substitutes on Saturday at San Mames but remained unused as Madrid fell short of completing a second-half comeback.
Isco came off the bench to head home the equaliser but Lopetegui opted not to use Mariano, who returned to Madrid last month after a single season in Ligue 1 with Lyon, becoming the club's sole striker signing following Cristiano Ronaldo's sale to Juventus.