Real Madrid after El Clasico: Xabi Alonso and the bomb Vinicius

Real Madrid's impressive win over Barca, but the Clasico was not complete for Xabi Alonso when Vinicius challenged him in front of the world.

Victory and the Vinicius bomb

Xabi Alonso is feeling the hot ground under his feet at Real Madrid . The dissatisfaction of some players with his decisions, especially Vinicius Junior , Federico Valverde and Endrick, has resonated with the feeling of cynicism that has surrounded the club since the Metropolitano disaster ( lost 2-5 to Atletico ).

So the convincing win in the recent El Clasico gives Alonso more time and credibility to continue sowing the seeds of his philosophy.

Vinicius walks past Alonso after his disgruntled words. Photo: EFE

However, Vinicius' public act of defiance upon being substituted, in front of the Bernabeu crowd and millions of viewers around the world , was the biggest test of his authority in the dressing room.

The grand celebrations after the Clasico victory showed that Real Madrid had lifted the mental burden against Barcelona, ​​who lost all four matches in the 2024/25 season.

Coupled with defeats against Champions League-class opponents like Arsenal, Liverpool, PSG or Atletico, “Los Blancos” need a big win.

Against Barcelona, ​​they showed the energy of a team pushed to the wall (benefiting from a fragile defense and the opponent's injury “virus”), ending the match with their highest attacking output in over a year: 23 shots, 10 on target and 3.6 expected goals (a measure of quality of chances).

All of last season's stats in big games were much lower. In the two El Clasicos in La Liga (lost 0-4 and 3-4), Real Madrid did not exceed 10 shots per game.

In the Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal, they had just six shots on target in both legs. Against PSG and Atletico (under Xabi), the team had just two shots on target.

Vinicius had a great Clasico. Photo: EFE

The problem in Real Madrid's new phase is not the overall results (15 wins in 18 games), but the repeated helplessness when facing strong teams.

“This is a much-needed victory ,” Alonso admitted. Real Madrid widened the gap with Barca to 5 points.

After 13 games since August, the team's performance has not been really brilliant, but at least they have cut the disease of disjointed lines under Carlo Ancelotti.

Another notable point: Alonso placed Camavinga on the right, a bold and effective decision, completely different from the losses to PSG and Atletico.

Lessons for Alonso and Vinicius

However, the boost from El Clasico came with a crisis named Vinicius, who represents a dressing room showing signs of losing patience with Xabi.

"Me? Me? Sir, sir! Me? Always me." Photo: EFE

“Vini is hot-tempered, but he has a good nature. Life is about lessons. This is a lesson, for him, and for the coach,” said a source from Valdebebas. According to this source, the two will talk directly on October 29.

In recent weeks, some of Alonso 's decisions, including the handling of Vinicius, have not received full support from the board. The pressure of winning in big games has put him in a difficult position.

Vinicius's public behavior when being substituted forced the usually reserved Alonso to break the rules and explain.

After not starting Vini in the Marseille match, he revealed that he had to wait two days before daring to speak to him because his "face was still sullen" . When he replaced Vini in the 77th minute of the Espanyol match, Alonso admitted that "he could have waited a little longer" .

Before the Getafe game, he proactively announced that Vinicius was on the bench, who then came on to score. But the El Clasico saw the Brazilian's most outrageous behavior.

Vinicius is trying to regain his form in the context of Mbappe shining brightly, scoring 14/15 recent La Liga matches (20 goals).

Alonso's personality does not match Vinicius'. Photo: EFE

Against Barca, he had 5 successful dribbles in 72 minutes, just 1 less than the total of 370 minutes of El Clasico last season.

Alonso once admitted to being very impressed with young talent Mastantuono . With Vinicius, he drew the line from round 2 of La Liga. Up to now, Vini has only played 3 full matches.

“Me? Me? Sir, sir! Me? Go away. Always me. I’m leaving. I’m leaving, I better leave,” Vinicius shouted in Portuguese as he was substituted. He walked straight down the tunnel without saying goodbye to Alonso.

Xabi also turned away, only saying: "Come on, Vini, don't do that again." After El Clasico, Alonso faced his biggest challenge: asserting his authority over a hot-tempered star in an already thorny dressing room.

That was the price behind the indispensable victory for his new project, the man who had just “invented” Camavinga to play on the right wing.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/real-madrid-hau-sieu-kinh-dien-xabi-alonso-xu-ly-bom-vinicius-2457082.html