On Sunday night, Real Madrid put them in chains The third match without a win. A defeat in Liverpool, a draw in Vallecas before the national team break, and a new draw in Elche (2-2) in the departure match. So … Only one point is the white team’s advantage over Barcelona.
But more than the results, that’s now too, really It’s a matter of feelings Which was already there when Real Madrid added three in three. Not even with the change of design proposed by Xabi Alonso in Martínez Valero, with a return to the centre-back three design that gave him such good performances during his time at Bayer Leverkusen.
Eder Sarabia’s Elche deserved something more and saw how Bellingham, near the end, denied them two points with a dose of controversy, when Elche claimed the absence of Vinicius at the expense of Iñaki Peña.
Even the international break, with a full week free of commitments, has not helped to see a better version of Madrid, which will face three new matches (Olympiacos, Girona and Athletic) in the next nine days with a taste of finals in Tolosara.
Maldini points to the bench
Xabi Alonso dared to sit Vinicius at Elche and change the system even though he only had two centre-backs available: Asensio and Huysen. Carreras completed this three-man line-up, while the wingers were responsible for Alexander-Arnold and Fran Garcia. The changes left Vinicius and the injured Valverde out of the lineup, but the team didn’t run with those new features either.
For this reason, Julio Maldonado “Maldini” was categorical in his analysis. Commenter on Movistar Plus+ and cup series He made a post on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) at the end of the match criticizing the character of the Madrid coach.
“Xabi Alonso comes away particularly damaged from this encounter in Elche. Change the team, the drawing, exclude Vinicius (and Valverde, but Vini is more important for obvious reasons) and the team does not work. Remain completely responsible. “Only in Mbappe did I see a real rebellion,” Maldini said on social media.
The buzz around Xavi has already increased in recent weeks, with many voices questioning the team’s performance. However, at the moment, it has the support of the rankings, being the leader in the league and its presence in Top 8 in ChampionsThis allows him to skip the round that precedes the round of 16.