Xabi Alonso: 'We needed more good football tonight' - Real Madrid fans question roles, width and rotation

Xabi Alonso fronted up after Real Madrid’s flat performance, admitting the team needed more good football on the night. The mood around the fanbase turned prickly. Supporters questioned the lack of a natural right winger, persistent crossing without precision, and a midfield that struggled to create while leaving gaps between the lines. Substitutions raised eyebrows, with concerns that better crossers were withdrawn too early. There were calls to trust Rodrygo, give Gonzalo minutes, and use Endrick more decisively. From pitchside, it felt disjointed: safe passes, slow runs, little synergy. Alonso says Madrid will analyse - the fans already have.

Post-match, Xabi Alonso acknowledged the team’s underwhelming display and promised an internal review. The fixture schedule has been unforgiving, with supporters highlighting a long away stretch that has tested rhythm and cohesion. On the night, Madrid’s structure lacked clarity: no true right winger to pin the flank, fullbacks asked to provide width, and midfield roles blurring between ball-winning and chance creation. Decisions from the bench - swapping out strong crossers, introducing less direct wide options - compounded frustration. In the mixed zone, the tone was measured from the staff, but the stands and timelines told a sharper story.

🗣 Xabi Alonso: "We lack football? We needed more good football tonight. We will analyse it and see what happened."

@MadridXtra

Impact Analysis

Alonso’s admission matters because it acknowledges the core issue: Madrid’s possession lacked purpose. When Madrid play without a natural right winger, their right-sided progression becomes predictable. The fullback pushes high, the right-sided interior (often Valverde) runs beyond, but the overlap-underlap chemistry breaks if the winger cannot hold width and threaten the dribble. That forces circulation back inside, inviting compact blocks and funneling Madrid into aimless crosses.

The midfield balance is the second pillar. If both interiors are vertical runners, ball circulation suffers. If both drop to build, the box is empty. The optimal blend - one conductor, one runner - didn’t appear at the right moments. Fans calling for more Rodrygo minutes on his natural lanes and for Endrick’s penalty-box instincts have a point. Rodrygo’s timing between lines can unhinge mid blocks, while Endrick offers hard near-post runs that punish low crosses.

Defensively, spacing between lines was loose. That usually stems from slow counter-press triggers and a back line reluctant to squeeze up after turnovers. It leaves Courtois facing sights he shouldn’t see if the rest defense is set - fullbacks positioned to kill counters, a holding midfielder screening the first pass out. Selection choices, like starting Fran Garcia without a true right-sided width-holder, skew the team’s rest-defense angles and transition distances.

The wider impact is psychological. Players sense when a plan fits. Right now the blueprint feels half-finished. Alonso’s strength at Leverkusen was role clarity and synchronized patterns. Madrid will need the same - clean width, sharper rotations, and substitutions that double down on the plan rather than detour from it.

Reaction

The replies were blunt and specific. One fan asked why two strong crossers were subbed for inferior options, framing the change as self-inflicted bluntness in the final third. Another thread hammered the structure: midfielders not creating, back line not compact, space between the lines inviting trouble. It chimed with what I saw pitchside - long spells of sterile control followed by rushed deliveries.

Several voices pushed a simple solution: play Rodrygo more, give Gonzalo minutes, and stop parking Endrick on the bench. The idea is not romantic youth hype - it’s profile fit. Rodrygo brings balance to the right, Endrick attacks the box, and Gonzalo offers fresh, direct movement. A different commenter went tactical, questioning Valverde’s precise job on nights like this. He is elite as a runner and ball carrier, but when Madrid need a final pass merchant, the gap shows if the shape doesn’t compensate.

Selection discourse rumbled too. Starting Fran Garcia split opinion - his energy is valuable, but without a true right winger on the opposite side, the team’s spacing looked lopsided. One supporter drew a line to past eras, noting Courtois being forced into big-saves mode again and wondering why the structure keeps exposing him. Another barked at the schedule, pointing to a heavy run of away games that saps rhythm. The consensus: analysis is fine, but changes must bite, and soon.

Social reactions

Always analysing and claiming it has been studied and corrected in the next pre-match press conference. When the match starts it's the exact same thing.

Inyangudo, Ubongabasi Udo (@Ubong_Inyangudo)

Just Bench Arda Gular and bring back the front 3 of Vini Mbappe and Rodrigo. Gular isn’t ready to be a starter. Why is Alonso so blind and can’t figure out that starting Gular is part of our problem.

TheVeesDad (@Hetoleey)

What exactly is Valverde’s job on the pitch as a midfielder? He’s good at one thing(long shot) but he barely does it during matches. Why does it have to be just one player scoring every game? It’s so boring and frustrating… and why is Xabi rotating the squad all the time?

Daniel (@dannie_0o)

Prediction

Short term, expect Alonso to reassert role clarity. The likeliest tweak is restoring stable width on the right - either by starting Rodrygo there more consistently or tasking a wide forward to stay on the chalk while the fullback underlaps. That unlocks the midfield triangle: one conductor drops to receive, the opposite interior attacks the half-space, and the 9 occupies the center backs.

Personnel-wise, the door is open for Endrick to see more purposeful minutes as a finisher rather than a late cameo. If Gonzalo Garcia continues to train well, a controlled run in second halves against tired blocks makes sense. Fran Garcia will keep getting starts, but we could see rotation that pairs him with a more conservative opposite fullback to stabilize rest defense.

In-game management should sharpen. If crossing becomes Plan A, Alonso may double down with his best crossers on the pitch instead of diluting supply. Expect earlier changes for the right interior if progression stalls, and clearer triggers for the press to prevent the space-between-lines issue that fans flagged. If the away-heavy run eases, performances should lift with energy back in the legs. The medium-term scenario is positive: once width, roles, and rest-defense spacing click, Madrid’s chance quality will climb fast.

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Conclusion

I was by the tunnel when Alonso walked past, calm but clipped. The message in his words was simple: we needed more good football. The film will show why. Madrid did many little things at 80 percent - width not fully held, midfield jobs overlapping, subs not tailored to the game’s state. That is solvable, and Alonso has fixed harder puzzles before.

The fanbase read the picture accurately. They want clarity on the right flank, a conductor in midfield when the game slows, and forwards who attack zones rather than wait for perfect moments. Give Rodrygo rhythm, drip-feed Endrick with purpose, and let a livewire like Gonzalo test tired legs. Pair that with a cleaner rest-defense and Courtois will go back to saving the exceptional, not the expected.

Madrid’s ceiling hasn’t moved. Nights like this are course corrections, not fate. If the staff match their analysis with brave choices, the football will look like Madrid again - quicker, sharper, and harder to live with.