Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso tasted defeat for the first time in La Liga in a painful 5-2 loss to Atlético Madrid on Saturday. Post-match, he addressed a number of points, including his decision to start
Jude Bellingham as he said, “We need everyone and Jude is a key player. He was training well. We wanted players in ‘one position’, but we couldn’t get there. We lacked fluidity with the ball and without it, we were losing too many duels. At times, we couldn’t recover in the opposition’s half. They drew us in and played quickly with long balls. And there, they pushed us back and we couldn’t win the first duel… or the second to progress. We’ll analyse the decisions afterwards, but we’ll learn from them. And we won’t forget this tough defeat. It hurts, it hurts the fans, but it’s a process. The league season is a process, as is the team we’re building, and today we didn’t perform at the level we would have liked. We have to be critical of ourselves, analyse why and try to improve. It’s about drawing conclusions, and we’ll do that.”
Xabi Alonso on the defeat
“It was a bad match. We didn’t start well, we didn’t play well collectively, nor in terms of the quality of our play with and without the ball. We are in a rebuilding phase, today is our first defeat and this will continue. We have to learn from what happened, because it will surely serve us well in the future. But there are no excuses. We’re hurt, as are the fans. It was a derby and it was a deserved defeat. We weren’t… in the game, we lacked a gear… the defeat hurts.”
Xabi Alonso on taking positives
“Well, maybe it’s a positive pain for the future. But yes, we didn’t start well. In the duels, in the balls into space… we were too defeatist. Then, with the ball, we couldn’t find solutions either. The game didn’t flow and well… that’s it, it was a bad game overall. A deserved defeat.”
Xabi Alonso on the referee
“No complaints. What happened today was independent of the refereeing, of any decision. It was a deserved defeat.”
Xabi Alonso on what worries him most
“The fact that we lacked that intensity, that adjustment to counteract better, to come out better. Right now, we have an idea of what might have happened, but we need to assess it further. We didn’t compete enough. Today, I think the team didn’t compete at the level required for these matches, against these opponents. And we’ll have to raise our level. That’s what we’ll have to do.”
Xabi Alonso on Franco Mastantuono’s anger
“Well, we’re not going to make a big deal out of one detail, an explanation of what happened. But it was very clear what was going on. The frustration is that we didn’t perform at our level. It has to hurt, but it has to be a pain that we use in a positive way, both individually and collectively.”
Xabi Alonso on comparisons to Mourinho’s 5-0 loss to Barcelona
“It’s what we have to deal with, I don’t want to compare, but it’s the first one we’ve had this season; a painful one, no doubt. It hurts us all, and surely the fans too. We feel very responsible. And now, let’s see what we have to do. What we have to correct and how we have to look ahead. We’re starting the season, both in La Liga and in other competitions, and… this is not the level we want to perform at.”
Xabi Alonso on what happened at half-time
“We talked about starting a new game because, after the 2-2, without having played well, we were still in the game. But we didn’t manage it. It was… in general, the game wasn’t going well and then there were circumstances: the foul, the penalty, the loss at the end… but we weren’t at our best. We didn’t compete well, we gave too much away and we were deservedly punished because we didn’t deserve any more today.”
Xabi Alonso on whether his players were angry
“Well, I could see that we weren’t at our best. We were lacking a little bit of rhythm in everything. That’s what I felt was missing.”
Xabi Alonso on his message to fans
“In terms of progress, of building… there are tough days. How we react is what makes the difference. We’re still in a building phase.”
