Real Madrid showed against Al Hilal on Wednesday that there are obvious problems in the squad that have yet to be resolved. Xabi Alonso’s team, which has had just a few weeks to internalize the changes he wants to make, showed the same ghosts that have haunted them throughout the season with a worrying lack of leadership in midfield.
The midfield is not firing on all cylinders
Against Al Hilal, the team once again demonstrated a lack of creativity in midfield. For many, this area of the pitch is the team’s greatest weakness. Since the departure of Toni Kroos and the reduced role of Luka Modric, the team has suffered from a lack of a playmaker to direct the team’s play. A thinking player with vision who knows how to distribute the ball and organize the team with his mere presence.
In Wednesday’s match, defensively there was little to fault Tchouaméni, Valverde, and Bellingham, who were chosen by Xabi Alonso to play in the wide areas. However, in terms of creativity, all three showed shortcomings that greatly affected the overall performance of the team, which could not manage more than a draw against the Arab side.
The problem is clear, as Manu Carreño pointed out on Cadena SER. “The midfield continues to be a problem. Trent has been perfect at right back, Huijsen made his debut in central defense, but from there on, where Real Madrid’s play is cooked up and the team’s laboratory is located, which is from there forward, it’s the same as last year. What Xabi Alonso will have to insist on, with the players he has, is the importance of playing differently from when he played under Ancelotti. Because no one is missing. They are who they are, unless Madrid signs someone because Xabi Alonso insists that it is essential,” said the director of El Larguero.
Xabi asked for a player and the answer was NO
The figure that the new coach of the white team has been calling for is missing. In his first team preparation meeting with Real Madrid, Xabi Alonso asked the club for a controlling midfielder. The club said NO and told him that the midfielders he has now are enough, according to MARCA.
There is no shortage of players to field in midfield, that is a fact, but since the departure of Kroos and now with Modric leaving, that type of player is conspicuous by his absence. Xabi Alonso had Martín Zubimendi in mind, but Real Madrid refused to make an investment that it has made for an unknown quantity such as Franco Mastantuono.
A player with characteristics and a profile that is already present in the white team’s squad. Real Sociedad referred to the Spanish player’s €60 million release clause, but Madrid knew it had the Xabi Alonso factor, as he is the player’s idol and they already played together in the San Sebastian reserve team, but it preferred not to go down that route and the player will now head to Arsenal. The same has happened with other candidates with the same profile of organizing midfielder, with whom the club has refused to make a big investment. As Manu Carreño assured, everything will depend on Xabi Alonso’s insistence and the reaction of the current squad in the World Cup, but the problem is real and under the current conditions, the team will not improve its play.