Alonso's tactical shift sees Real Madrid top Group H with comfortable win over Salzburg

New Straits Times

3 days ago

PHILADELPHIA: New Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso introduced a bold tactical change as his side defeated RB Salzburg 3-0 on Thursday to finish as Group H winners and set up a mouth-watering last 16 tie against Juventus at the Club World Cup.
Alonso, who arrived at Real with a reputation for innovative tactics following his trophy-laden stint at Bayer Leverkusen, fielded a five-man defence for the first time since taking over.
The system, featuring three centre backs and aggressive wing backs, marked a significant departure from the traditional 4-3-3 formation used by predecessors Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane over the past decade.
The change evoked memories of Vicente del Bosque's 2000 Champions League-winning side, the last Real Madrid team to adopt such a structure.
"We're taking it step-by-step," Vinicius Jr told DAZN. "Of course, we can't fully adapt to the coach's ideas so quickly, it takes time. But today was a good game for that, especially in the first half."
Alonso had utilised a four-man defence in Real's earlier group matches, a 1-1 draw with Al Hilal and a 3-1 victory over Pachuca.
On Thursday Aurelien Tchouameni was deployed between centre backs Antonio Ruediger and Dean Huijsen, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fran Garcia operating as the wing backs.
Jude Bellingham and Arda Guler played as creative midfielders with Federico Valverde in a holding role, while Vinicius Jr and Gonzalo Garcia led the attack.
The tactical shift paid dividends as Real Madrid dominated proceedings.
Bellingham and Guler consistently found Vinicius in dangerous positions and the Brazilian opened the scoring in the 40th minute, weaving past two defenders before firing into the bottom-right corner.
He then assisted on Valverde's goal in first-half added time with a deft back-heeled pass. Forward Gonzalo Garcia sealed the win in the 84th minute, lobbing the Salzburg keeper to cap a swift counter-attack.
The performance was a marked improvement from Real's earlier group matches, where they appeared unconvincing at times.
"The first half was serious. We played patiently, knowing that we couldn't win in 10 minutes and that we had to be mature to find our opportunity," Alonso told reporters.
"We started the second half well and, with the score at 3-0, I'm happy with the lads."
Real Madrid next face Italy's Juventus in the round of 16 on Tuesday, when Alonso's tactical approach will come under greater scrutiny. He is expected to have forward Kylian Mbappe available after the Frenchman missed the group stage due to illness.
"Let's wait and see, I don't want to get ahead of myself. We thought Kylian would be ready for this match, but it wasn't to be," Alonso said. "Now we have four days. I want to be optimistic, but also cautious."