Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso has been working his magic with the team.
In just three games, fans have started falling more and more in love with the way their team has been performing. After every match, there is some improvement or the other, and it is good to see.
Real Madrid are still missing a few key pieces. Alonso has been working with a very depleted squad, and there are a bunch of players - including Franco Mastantuono - that have yet to arrive.
He probably won't get his full squad until the start of next season, but there are some things to be happy about. Small victories.
Real Madrid handed boost Xabi Alonso has long been hoping for
Kylian Mbappe has been missing from the squad ever since the start of Alonso's tenure, and now, he will be returning in Real Madrid's next match against Juventus, per AS.
Mbappe's goalscoring has been missed, but Real Madrid have performed well despite that.
It will be good to see what Alonso does with Mbappe up top, particularly in terms of pressing because of how impactful Gonzalo Garcia has been as well.
Even though it is obvious that Mbappe is Real Madrid's best player, he will still need to defend. Vinicius Jr and Mbappe both have to buy into the idea that 11 players press and 11 players attack, and Alonso has been insistent on that as well.
In nearly all press conferences since he joined the club, Alonso has mentioned that he wants players like Mbappe to press and defend in order to get that togetherness sorted as a team.
He does not want 11 individuals on the pitch, and it will be interesting to see how it all unfolds.
It will be great either way, though. It is Mbappe, after all. He has scored more than 40 goals this season, and it was the biggest positive in an otherwise bad season. His return will improve the team significantly.