Los Blancos may have won their first game of the season but the new coach has an awful lot of work to do at the Santiago Bernabeu
There’s no other way to cut it: Real Madrid were very poor in their 1-0 win over Osasuna to open the season. Fans looking for signs of encouragement, or hoping to be moved by new tactical ideas, would have been left largely disappointed. There was nothing definitive to be found, no glitzy new system, or innovative way of playing.
Instead, Madrid fell back into a lot of similar patterns. Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe disagreed a lot. The midfield lacked balance. The team looked vulnerable on the break here and there. If Los Blancos really do want to compete for the league, then they will have to perform a whole lot more convincingly than this.
The good news, though, is that it is early on in the season. Xabi Alonso may have a lot to do, but he also has a lot to work with. It helps, too, that such is the quality of the squad – and relative weakness of La Liga – that Madrid can still be carried by moments of individual magic.
Still, individualism can only sustain them for so long, and even if he is given time, the new coach will have to start piecing together something more tactically coherent. GOAL looks at the biggest changes Alonso must make if Madrid are to win major honours this season…