Casemiro hails "important" Real Madrid teammate Isco

Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro is hopeful that his teammate Isco will stay at the Bernabeu "for many years".

Isco was in impressive form against his former club Malaga on Sunday night - opening the scoring in the first half before setting up Casemiro in the second as Los Blancos recorded a 2-1 win.

There is still believed to be tension between head coach Zinedine Zidane and Isco following quotes from the attacker while on Spain duty, but the 25-year-old has been a regular in the team in recent weeks.

Casemiro has said that Isco has "always been a really important Real Madrid player", and the Brazilian wants his teammate to stay in the Spanish capital on a long-term basis.

"He's always been a really important Real Madrid player," Casemiro told reporters. "He's fantastic, and let's hope he stays for many years."

Zidane also paid tribute to the performance of Isco in the victory at Malaga, which saw Madrid move above Valencia into third position in La Liga.