At the end of last season, and shortly before the Club World Cup, Real Madrid made a major change by replacing Carlo Ancelotti with Xabi Alonso. The Spanish technician took up his duties on the Madrid bench on June 1.
Five months later, Xabi Alonso and the Madrilenians had a promising start to the year, despite some turmoil. The club still sits at the top of La Liga, one length behind FC Barcelona after 13 days, and occupies fifth place in the Champions League after five days.
“Life is not always rosy”
This encouraging record, however, does not mask certain difficulties that the Spanish vice-champion is facing under the leadership of Xabi Alonso. Asked about this after the victory against Olympiakos (4-3) this Wednesday in C1, Kylian Mbappé spoke frankly.
“My relationship with Xabi Alonso? I think we have to tell the truth: we are very united. Life is not always rosy, and when you change projects or coaches, it is normal for things to evolve. But I don’t think everything that happened was deserved. Yes, we are Real Madrid, and people obviously talk about Real Madrid, that’s not a bad thing, that’s life. But we, the players, must support each other, support the coach, the staff… and stay united. Because we are capable of great things this season,”judged the former Parisian in his remarks relayed by RMC Sport.
