How can Real Madrid respond to Club World Cup catastrophe?

The Club World Cup was meant to mark a new dawn for Real Madrid under Xabi Alonso’s reign, but instead it ended in an embarrassing collapse and catastrophe for Los Blancos.

Real Madrid were eliminated from the tournament in humiliating fashion, suffering a 4-0 defeat in the semi-final to Paris Saint-Germain, where Los Blancos appeared disorganised, overwhelmed and were simply outclassed by the Champions League winners.

The scale of the defeat shocked fans and pundits alike, raising serious questions about Real Madrid’s current state and whether they are capable of competing at the highest level as things stand.

Los Blancos will be expected to react to the defeat in the coming weeks, and with that in mind, here, Sports Mole takes a look at how Real Madrid can respond to their Club World Cup catastrophe.

Xabi Alonso’s Pressing Issue

Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior’s reluctance to actively press opposition players was a noticeable problem under Carlo Ancelotti throughout last season, and that issue has persisted under Alonso.

One of the clearest issues in their defeat to PSG was Real Madrid’s pressing structure, which was broken down far too easily as the Parisians were afforded plenty of time in possession in defensive areas due to Mbappe and Vinicius’ lack of pressure, with Alonso even saying that the “leniency shown when defending was worrying.”

That allowed PSG to circulate the ball and control possession before picking their moment to fire it through the lines to their creative players, while frustrations from Real Madrid’s other players also increased as the game continued.

Arda Guler, Jude Bellingham and Gonzalo Garcia were all seen racing past their strikers on multiple occasions as they hunted the ball down, but this only created more space for PSG to pick Los Blancos apart.

Alonso is now, as a result, already confronted with a difficult challenge, as he must convince the two superstars to fully buy into the pressing system, or one of the two may well have to be moved on – which is admittedly extremely unlikely.

The manager is reportedly set for showdown talks with the pair and, rather surprisingly, the club are giving Alonso their full backing to discipline the players if needed.

Reinforcements Required

Alongside their pressing problems, Real Madrid’s defeat – as well as performances throughout the tournament – revealed a requirement for reinforcements in key areas.

The legendary Luke Modric played his last game for the club in the 4-0 loss, while Dani Ceballos will reportedly be allowed to leave, and with Guler struggling to convince as of yet in his deeper role, a new central midfielder will almost certainly be needed.

Vitinha is supposedly their dream target, but given PSG’s dominance in the last season – including in their 4-0 win - the player may be reluctant to move, while PSG are guaranteed to not sanction any deal.

The defence is also a major problem for Alonso, especially after both Antonio Rudiger and Raul Asencio made a string of errors throughout the Club World Cup, including being at fault for PSG’s two goals inside the first 10 minutes of the semi-final.

Dean Huijsen has joined from Bournemouth and already looks like their best central defender, but an additional centre-back may be required, while Alvaro Carreras is set to join to bolster the left-back position.

Written by
Ellis Stevens