Just In: Xabi Alonso Have Expressed His extremely angry over poor performance of his players

Xabi Alonso entered the locker room and expressed his dissatisfaction to the players, saying, “We have been too soft.”

As reported by AS, Real Madrid's recent difficulties continued with a 2-2 draw against Elche in a La Liga match, marking their third game in a row without a win. This result has raised concerns about the team's performance, with manager Xabi Alonso voicing his disappointment over the lack of intensity and responsiveness from his players against a determined and well-structured opponent.

Elche managed to take the lead twice during the match, which frustrated Alonso, especially with the timing of their second goal. Scored in the 84th minute by Álvaro Rodríguez after a solo effort that caught Madrid's defense off guard, it came just as Real Madrid seemed ready to mount a comeback. After the game, Alonso addressed his team in the locker room, bluntly stating, “We have been too soft.”

In his post-match remarks, Alonso emphasized the team's lack of intensity, a sentiment he reiterated in his subsequent press conference. He described the moment Elche equalized at 2-1 as a crucial setback:

“It was unfortunate that after we equalized, we conceded again; we let in the 2-1 when we needed to push for a comeback. That 2-1 was painful, but we continued to fight; we equalized at 2-2 and had another good chance to take the lead. What we lacked after the 1-1 was the drive to push forward and prevent that 2-1.”

Despite the disappointment, Real Madrid showed determination, managing to equalize in the 87th minute. The play was controversial, as Vinicius Junior made contact with Elche goalkeeper Iñaki Peña's knee during the buildup, leading to claims of a foul. However, after a VAR review, the goal was allowed, securing the draw.

Peña, the Elche goalkeeper, dismissed the incident as part of the game, countering critics like commentator Jota Jordi, who argued that Real Madrid had unfairly earned a point. "With the momentum, Vinicius hit me in the nose, but it's part of the game, that's all. It's just a knock. The unfortunate part is that Mbappé got to that ball and it ended up in the goal,” Peña said.

Today, we lacked that consistency after equalizing at 1-1 and then conceding the second goal. It hurt us a bit, but despite that, we came back. In the first half, we were working hard to take the lead, even though we didn't manage to.”