Real Madrid: Xabi Alonso slammed after derby defeat

Xabi Alonso - Arda Güler

On Sunday morning, the Spanish press showed no mercy towards Xabi Alonso. Real Madrid's defeat to Atlético was simply unacceptable.

On a rather average run, Atlético steamrolled Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid (5-2), who had won every match until now. It was a footballing lesson and, above all, a huge humiliation. Since then, the Madrid press has been searching for culprits. Many are facing fierce criticism, such as Dean Huijsen and Alvaro Carreras, both solid at the start of the season but completely off the pace yesterday. But the one taking the most heat is Xabi Alonso. Some decisions, like leaving out Franco Mastantuono—who has been outstanding in recent weeks—and starting a clearly unfit Jude Bellingham, have not gone down well. Also, the early substitution of Arda Güler, who had been performing well, drew the ire of supporters and pundits alike.

Diego Simeone was full of emotion as Atleti beat Real Madrid 5-2... 🥹❤️ pic.twitter.com/hmQn2riT8x

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Marca compared Xabi to Ancelotti, explaining in an article that he abandoned his principles of meritocracy and did what too many recent Real coaches have done: played those with the biggest reputations. “The substitution of Arda Güler defines what Xabi Alonso did at the Metropolitano. He managed Real Madrid. And the expectation is for Xabi Alonso to be more than that. From the starting eleven, with Bellingham clearly unfit to start based on what little he had shown, to bringing on Gonzalo in the 90th minute, his decisions felt as if they were made by AI programmed to ‘act like a Real Madrid coach.’ If there is (and there is) so much excitement about Xabi, it’s because people expect him to be different, to make those who usually don’t run, run, to give chances to those who rarely get them, and to bench those who deserve it, regardless of their name,” the paper wrote.

AS was equally scathing. “Xabi was tactically outclassed in the derby. Cholo humiliated him tactically,” they wrote. “Real Madrid failed miserably in their first big test of the season. Some of Xabi Alonso’s decisions were baffling, like starting Bellingham or the early substitution of Güler. The team lost the qualities that had defined them in the opening matches,” added the paper in another article.