Xabi Alonso’s last memory of Real Madrid erased all the ghosts of an erratic, lazy, and tactically disastrous team. It was a reality that Ancelotti’s squad had been struggling with, where the last game was always the worst. Presentism killed Ancelotti, and the past couldn’t save him. On the night of July 1, the present gave Xabi Alonso more credit and confidence than he had at the start of the Club World Cup. The match against Salzburg weighed heavily. But Juventus was going to bring Real Madrid back down to earth once again.
Xabi Alonso surprised everyone, to some extent, by bringing Gonzalo back into the starting lineup. Mbappé, now recovered, would have to wait for his moment on the bench. And that would surely come in the second half. Because, unlike Ancelotti—judging by Davide’s recent comments about the youth academy’s supposed opportunities—Xabi opted for the meritocracy that Mourinho preached so much.
And with Kylian still lacking rhythm, Gonzalo was going to be in the starting line-up. The rest of the line-up was unchanged from the day before against Salzburg: again three center backs and Bellingham on the right. And, as mentioned in the first paragraph, Juventus is not Salzburg. The bad news kept coming for Real Madrid in the opening minutes of the game.
The pressure was not the same as the other day and tactical discipline was once again conspicuous by its absence. There was no clarity in the build-up play, Bellingham drifted too far to the left from the start, and Valverde, further to the right, left too much space in the center of the park, where Guler tried to plug the gaps.
In the 7th minute, Kolo Muani, after finding himself alone in front of Courtois, decided to try a chip shot that went over the goal. In the 11th minute, Yildiz warned from afar and almost scored against Courtois after the ball touched Tchouameni’s foot. And that was how the first half hour went. Juve were looking dangerous and Real Madrid were neither sitting back in a low block nor pressing high up the pitch. Ancelotti’s vibes. Everything was on the counter, but the final passes were misplaced.
And in the 29th minute, finally, came the first warning from Real Madrid. Guler invented an inside pass to Valverde, who had made a good run, and his subtle pass to Bellingham, who was alone in front of the goalkeeper, missed the one-on-one. That was the warning, and that was it. Nothing else. Juventus, however, gradually slowed down their initial momentum, but Real Madrid, whether because of their opponents, the heat in Miami or for inexplicable reasons, returned to being Ancelotti’s team, but with three center backs. In other words, almost worse. Valverde, in the 46th minute, tried his luck from long range in Madrid’s second best chance. Di Gregorio denied him again. And so we reached halftime.
Real Madrid rises again
And everything took another 180-degree turn at Real Madrid. The break was similar to that of the Looney Tunes in Space Jam; either that was Xabi Alonso‘s plan, or if it wasn’t, he did well to remind them what they had to do. Because Real Madrid went back to being everything we saw against Salzburg. The high pressure returned, along with the fast-paced movement and tactical order. It didn’t make sense, but at least it came at the right time. And it was a whirlwind.
Vinicius had a chance to start things off in the 49th minute, but he couldn’t finish a 2-on-1. Just one minute later, with Juventus sinking deeper and deeper, Bellingham tried a left-footed shot from the right corner of the box that was saved by Di Gregorio. And on the next play, who else but Gonzalo scored the goal. Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was not having his best day, put in the perfect cross for Gonzalo, who made no mistake. His third goal in the Club World Cup. A star is born, and Madrid now has a second striker for the first team.
Xabi Alonso identified Madrid’s main problem: the three-man defense meant that Tchouaméni was lost in midfield, which destabilized the whole team. That changed in the second half, and Real Madrid was back to its Salzburg form. Much more orderly, with better ball control and once again with plenty of energy to press high up the pitch, causing Juve a lot of problems. The storm put Di Gregorio to work, and he saved his team on several occasions. In the 72nd minute, Guler struck the ball from the edge of the box, but Di Gregorio made a miraculous save.
And then Mbappé returned. The Frenchman, who missed the entire group stage due to injury, came back eager to prove that he is the team’s franchise player. He didn’t do badly at all, although the game was slowly dying and he didn’t have many chances. He was involved, linked up well with Vinicius, but had no chance to get close to goal. There was no sign of Rodrygo, who once again did not play a single minute.
The match died in the last 20 minutes. Juve didn’t have much left, and Real Madrid seemed comfortable with the 1-0 lead. And so the time passed between glimpses of a counterattack in which Xabi’s men could have sealed the deal and a Juventus side that was unable to trouble them. Real Madrid won after a second-half resurgence and is now in the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup.