So far, Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid have not looked as impressive as everyone thought they would. There have been some terrible performances, some average ones, and only a couple of good ones so far this season.
Losing the match to Atletico Madrid in such a weird, gut-wrenching fashion was hard to watch and it put Real Madrid in a weird position.
Now, they don't look good enough to charge for the league, they have already lost two of their first seven league games, and it also has a lot to do with how Barcelona are playing.
Barcelona have won all their games so far, and they look fantastic. It seems like the only time Real Madrid last had the title within reach was when Xabi Alonso was the manager, and it just doesn't get talked about enough.
Real Madrid were much more consistent and dominant under Xabi Alonso - until the Clasico
The run that Real Madrid went on with Alonso till the Clasico incident was phenomenal. They only lost one game - a 5-2 thrashing from Atletico, but things were actually looking good otherwise. They were headed somewhere. Their playing style was improving after every game, and it looked like Real Madrid could retain the league if they kept playing that way.
However, things obviously changed after Vinicius Junior's incident, and soon after, Alonso was sacked.
It just does not feel like Alonso gets the respect he deserves from fans. They all love Vinicius Junior, but he also had an out-of-form Vinicius whose form he tried to fix by making him understand that he has competition as a left-winger.
Real Madrid did not lose a second game until the 1-0 loss to Liverpool in November. This season, we are in September and Real Madrid already have two losses on the record.
The style that Alonso was playing was more expansive than the one Real Madrid are showing this season, and even though things got sour towards the end of his time, it just does not make any sense to blame it all on him.
It just goes on to show that the run that Alonso went on, it was hard to replicate. Real Madrid have not had a run like that since, and even in these games, the team looks worse and less stable, which is why fans may have been a little too harsh on Alonso.
Yes, he made mistakes. He had his shortcomings. He was a young manager who was also learning about coaching the biggest team in the world, but the run that he went on, even coaches like Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho haven't been able to replicate, and th3 the latter has only been at the club for two months. He still has time, but the point was that to start the way Real Madrid did with a new playing style was fantastic to watch, and the sizable lead that Barcelona have now, even if Real were able to replicate that, it may not be enough.
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