Real Madrid Confidencial Xabi Alonso's Real Madrid bites, radical change and beats Barça
Xabi Alonso is already showing his hand in the team, and the radical change from last season is evident
The difference between Xabi Alonso's Real Madrid and Ancelotti's from last season was already starting to show a considerable gap. In this regard, it seems that from the start of the league there's already a substantial change in what the white club was, for one particular reason. This is because the Merengue side is the team that has recovered the most balls in these first two matchdays with 84; far above Barcelona's 61.
Obviously, this work is reflected in the effort of all the players and in Xabi's own game plan, who seeks to give the team an identity. Although this is clearly subject to being seen with more consistency throughout the season, a change is already visible. Now, the challenge is to keep it up even in the most important matches, such as against the Catalan side, which will be one of the campaign's biggest challenges.
Xabi's touch is already visible
Last season, pressing and recovering balls were two actions that were rarely reflected in the white team's match statistics. This seems to be the biggest change compared to the previous season and has been taken to the maximum. The players' commitment when defending has been considerable, and we've seen it even in a player like Mbappé.
84 successful ball recoveries compared to Barcelona's 61 make it clear that the Donostiarra coach is starting to establish a much more hard-working approach in the team. In addition, with players like Kylian Mbappé, who already has 3 goals in 2 matches this season, they help complement the recoveries.
One only has to refer to the last match for the whites, with a recovery by Tchouaméni that, in two passes, ended with a goal by Mbappé. This, in addition to making the coach's stance clear, with pressing play, but at the same time a very vertical style in between.
It's time to show in the big moments
Now, with the Champions League about to be played and with this new excitement among Madridists, it's time to show this power against the top-level teams. The first step will be to make a statement in LaLiga against the toughest rivals and then, in Europe. The white side is clear that it wants to aim for everything, and it seems to be on the right path.
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