Xabi Alonso: "We need to take positives today, and move on for the next one"
Xabi Alonso spoke to the media after a 3-2 victory for Real Madrid CF, against German side Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinal of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup tournament. With the result, Alonso, who coached Bayer 04 Leverkusen prior to joining the Spanish champions last month, is 2-2-2 as a head coach against BVB all-time.
When asked to summarise the match, Alonso said: 'Everything was going under control with the result, not conceding much, but the last 10 minutes were kind of crazy. We lost a little bit of our shape, our intensity, and luckily, nothing went through - but overall, good eighty minutes and last ten minutes, we need to improve.'
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Regarding 21-year-old Madrid-born forward Gonzalo García, who scored in the tenth minute, Alonso praised him for another decent performance: 'He is doing great work for the team - he is helping the team and he is running into the right positions in the box. He is a proper number 9, and we are happy that he is doing that work.'
García has four goals in five matches at this tournament for Real Madrid CF. His goal early in the match tied him for top scorer at the Club World Cup, with SL Benfica right-winger Ángel Di María, Al-Hilal SFC forward Marcos Leonardo, and Borussia Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy, who also scored in the match, being the other players on four goals. With the other three all eliminated, García needs to score to definitively hold the lead in the race for the Golden Boot.
Alonso was asked about Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose presence in the match was uncertain due to the recent passing of former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota. He said regarding the 26-year-old English right-back and the impact the last few days have had on him: 'Yeah, he is just starting out with a new club, after joining from Liverpool, and especially in the last few days, but I am happy that he played this game.'
Lastly, he commented about facing Paris Saint-Germain in the second semifinal: 'It is going to be a great challenge for us, to face PSG, but we need to take positives from today, and move on for the next one.'
The second semifinal between Real Madrid CF and Paris Saint-Germain starts on Wednesday, 15.00 (EDT) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
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