Spain’s record football champions Real Madrid made a surprising mistake in La Liga. Criticism of coach Xabi Alonso is growing.
The league leaders couldn’t get past a 0-0 draw at Rayo Vallecano on Sunday and missed out on their fifth league win in a row.
Really too unimaginative
Five days after the 1-0 defeat in the Champions League at Liverpool FC, the Madrilenians acted far too unimaginatively, star attacker Kylian Mbappé (13 league goals) was unregistered for long stretches. Central defender Raul Asencio (24′) missed the best chance for the “Royal” team, who headed past the goal from close range.
Barcelona takes advantage of the mistake and gets to it
Thanks to Robert Lewandowski’s hat-trick, FC Barcelona reduced the gap to Real. Coach Hansi Flick’s team won 4:2 (3:2) at Celta Vigo and jumped to within three points of the “Royals”.
Alonso remains calm
Alonso didn’t want to overestimate his city rival’s zero score and thus the second competitive game without his own goal. “We know where we stand. You have to be able to weigh up the good and the bad moments”said the 43-year-old: “It’s important to me that we continue to develop, improve and practice positive, constructive self-criticism. This is Real Madrid and everyone knows what that means.”
Media: “The ‘old new’ Madrid exposes Xabi Alonso”
The Spanish press saw it differently. The Madrilenians would go into the international break with doubts, wrote “Mundo deportivo”: “With many doubts”
Real have won ten of the twelve games so far in the Spanish football championship under their new coach Alonso. The one defeat against Atlético Madrid (2:5) was particularly painful. The draw against Rayo fueled criticism of the former Real professional, who returned to Madrid from Bayer 04 Leverkusen before this season.
“Rayo goes to great lengths to deactivate Xabi’s team, dejected after defeat to Liverpool at Anfield”wrote “El País”. “The ‘old new’ Madrid exposes Xabi Alonso and destroys his speech”poisoned “Sport”: “The Basque coach’s original manifesto has already become obsolete before the first half of the season: there is no sign of the promised pressure and the promised change in attitude.”
Pérez is also reportedly having doubts
The paper had also previously reported club boss Florentino Pérez’s doubts about Xabi Alonso, who was behind Jürgen Klopp on the president’s wish list after Carlo Ancelotti’s demise. “Pérez doesn’t see anywhere the ‘footballing modernity’ of Xabi’s Real Madrid that his advisors talked about”had written “Sport”.
After the next goalless appearance, the sports newspaper followed up again: “First of all, Xabi Alonso betrayed his own speech. Above all through his inability to maintain or defend it until the end.”
Nevertheless, the external perception of the real world looked different before these two games – three victories in the Champions League, including against former title holders Juventus Turin, and above all the triumph in the Clásico against FC Barcelona. “Concern about the unexpected break-in”was the headline of the sports paper “As”, but also emphasized: “The impressions from the last two games are cause for concern, but there is no reason to panic yet.”