Xabi Alonso criticized his students

Real's head coach made a frank comment after the 2-5 loss to Atletico Madrid on the night of September 27.

Coach Alonso and his students lost their first match in La Liga 2025/26.

"It was a bad game. The players did not perform to the required standard. Anyway, the season has just started, we need to recover from the defeat," Xabi Alonso said after the 5-2 loss to Atletico Madrid. "There are no excuses. We are really sorry. There were too many shortcomings that led to the painful defeat."

"It was a difficult defeat but it is part of the rebuilding process. We will learn from our mistakes, analyze what happened and learn from it. My players and I will not forget this match. Today, we did not play at the level of Real Madrid," added the Spanish coach.

For the first time in 75 years, Real Madrid conceded five goals to Atletico in a derby. Los Blancos ended the first half with a draw but played poorly and conceded three goals in the second half. This result put the Bernabeu team at great risk of losing the top spot to Barcelona.

"Real should have had a better performance in the second half. The players couldn't compete, couldn't win the ball back and lacked rhythm. The most important thing now is how Real will react after the defeat," added the former Leverkusen coach.

Meanwhile, coach Diego Simeone could not hide his emotions after the victory: "I burst into tears in the technical area because there were so many emotions. The season started quite complicatedly but Atletico improved thanks to the efforts of many members. That was wonderful."

Source: https://znews.vn/xabi-alonso-chi-trich-hoc-tro-post1588845.html