Real Madrid has only won one of its last five competitive games, and on Wednesday it faces a tough match in Bilbao. Xabi Alonso is coming under increasing pressure – but the club boss is not putting any on him yet.
Real Madrid lost their lead in the table on Sunday, and now they have lost another defender. Ferland Mendy will be out for about three weeks with a thigh muscle injury. The Frenchman had just made his comeback in the Champions League against Olympiacos Piraeus (4-3) after a seven-month injury break.
Admittedly, Xabi Alonso has bigger worries. After their third consecutive draw in La Liga, Real have gone from being the hunted to the hunters, with Barcelona now one point ahead of them. There can be no talk of unfortunate point losses – the white ballet has stumbled through their recent encounters.
And so the criticism in Madrid is mounting against the man primarily responsible, Xabi Alonso. The questions are becoming increasingly uncomfortable. Among other things, the 44-year-old was asked before Wednesday’s match against Athletic Bilbao—which is anything but a sure thing—whether he had doubts about his work. He didn’t really want to answer. “We are where we are, in La Liga and in the Champions League. We live with the demands and the criticism,” said Alonso.
However, he is still firmly in the saddle. According to the Real coach, a conversation with Real boss Florentino Perez was “friendly,” “very positive and good overall.” In contrast to the results, which leave something to be desired. “November didn’t go as we would have liked, but I have faith in the quality of this team,” he added. But of course, even he cannot turn a blind eye to the dip in performance. “Overall, the team has lost some of its quality and energy.”
This was certainly also due to the many injuries, especially in defense. But there are other areas of concern at Real: offensive players such as Rodrygo and Franco Mastantuono, who was still in the starting lineup at the beginning of the season, have been out of form for a long time or, in Rodrygo’s case, never found it. Endrick has played a total of just eleven minutes this season. Gonzalo Garcia, who was still playing brilliantly at the Club World Cup, is no longer a factor, and Vinicius Junior lacks consistency. Too much now depends on Kylian Mbappé, who leads the scoring charts by a clear margin with 14 goals. After the game in Girona, the Frenchman also struck a critical note. In addition, there are growing calls that Arda Güler and Jude Bellingham do not harmonize with each other in midfield. This is an opinion that Alonso does not share. “Jude and Güler have played together, they can do it and they will do it again,” he said, recalling the victories in the Clasico (2-1) and against Valencia (4-0), in which both were in the starting line-up. “At that time, those who have these doubts would not have asked that question.”