‘Crisis’—Xabi Alonso Gives Real Madrid Verdict After Back-to-Back Blunders

The Spanish giants have not found the back of the net in their last 188 minutes of football.

Xabi Alonso weighed in on Real Madrid’s recent struggles. / IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

Despite dropping points to Liverpool and Rayo Vallecano within the span of six days, Xabi Alonso insisted Real Madrid are not in “crisis” ahead of the November international break.

At the beginning of the week, Los Blancos were in cruise control across all competitions. The Spanish giants were five points clear of Barcelona atop the La Liga standings and had a perfect record in the Champions League.

Then, Real Madrid suffered a disappointing 1–0 defeat at Anfield on Tuesday evening and subsequently only managed a goalless draw with Rayo Vallecano on Sunday afternoon. Alonso’s once-lethal attack has now been held quiet in two consecutive matches.

Still, the Spanish boss is not rushing to sound any alarm bells just yet.

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“Is it a crisis? We know where we stand,” Alonso said in his postgame press conference. “I believe that in both good and bad times, we need to know how to balance things out.

“The season is long and the demands are extremely high, but we live with it and prepare for it.”

Real Madrid still sit atop the La Liga standings after the draw, but they left the door open for Barcelona to gain some ground with a victory over Celta Vigo on Sunday evening. A win for the Catalans puts Alonso’s men just three points in front of their arch rivals.

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Alonso: Real Madrid Must Take La Liga ‘One Game at a Time’

Xabi Alonso (left) is backing Real Madrid after two disappointing results. / Carl Recine/Getty Images

Through 12 matches under Alonso in the Spanish top flight, Real Madrid have walked away with 31 points. Only a draw with Rayo Vallecano and a lopsided Madrid derby defeat have stained their domestic campaign so far.

“After Anfield, we wanted to play a better game today. It’s always difficult to impose our style of play at Vallecas, and anything could have happened in the second half,” Alonso continued.

“I don’t attribute it to emotional highs and lows; we’re very consistent in our preparation and our mentality. La Liga is one game at a time, and [on Sunday] we couldn’t win.”

Playing at Vallecas is always a challenge for the Spanish giants no matter how strong they start a La Liga season. Los Blancos have not won away at Rayo Vallecano since the 2021–22 season.

With Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior largely stifled, Real Madrid could not find the moment of magic they needed to deliver a crushing blow to the hosts.

Despite the disappointing result, Alonso knows the season will not be won or lost by one draw in November.

“I’m concerned about wanting to keep growing, keep improving. To make positive and constructive self-criticism. We all know where we are and what we want. It’s November, there’s still a long way to go, and we have to hold ourselves to high standards.”

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