Los Blancos won each of their first seven matches of the 2025/26 season before falling to a 5-2 defeat at Atletico Madrid. It was just the third time in Alonso's 16 matches at the helm that Real failed to come away with the victory, having drawn 1-1 to Al-Hilal in their FIFA Club World Cup opener and lost 4-0 to Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup semifinal.
The Spanish behemoths bounced back with a 5-0 thrashing of Kairat Almaty, moving to second place in the UEFA Champions League standings, level on 6 points with PSG, Inter, Arsenal, Qarabag and league leaders Bayern Munich. And despite dealing with a historically long round trip to and from Kazakhstan, they showed no signs of rust in their 3-1 win against Villarreal.
As a result of this win and Barcelona's defeat to Sevilla, Real currently find themselves atop the LaLiga table with 21 points, two above Barcelona and five above Villarreal. And if they can win at Getafe on Sunday, they will be guaranteed to be atop the league standings heading into El Clasico on October 26.
“Xabi Alonso is a superstar, and for him to come in and pick up the reins and immediately produce the effects that he’s had, it’s a testament to the fact that he’s a real one,” stated legendary sports broadcaster James Richardson.
“They are Real Madrid, they are regularly the team that does the impossible, and they seem to regard that almost as their birthright," added Richardson. "With Alonso in charge, I think they are going to be even better than they were under Ancelotti.”
Real Madrid have difficult stretch ahead
It is shaping up to be a challenging fixture list for Real Madrid who, over the next three weeks, will host Barcelona, Valencia and Juventus and travel to Liverpool and Rayo Vallecano. But before that, they'll be looking to pick up the victory against a Getafe side that has taken just two points from their last four matches.
Real Madrid have won each of their last seven matches against the Azulones, conceding just once in that span, but can they keep up their superb record vs. Getafe and maintain the top spot going into their upcoming clash vs. Barcelona?
If they are, expect Kylian Mbappe to have a big role to play. The Frenchman has scored in 10 straight matches for club and country, and he'll be licking his lips against a Getafe side that has already let in 11 goals in their first 8 matches.