Life under Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid got off to a red-hot start, leading his men to 14 wins in their first 15 games. However, since the beginning of November, Madrid had been in their worst run of inconsistent form we've seen in the last few years.
Losses to Liverpool and Manchester City in the Champions League, a loss to Celta Vigo in La Liga, and draws with Rayo Vallecano, Elche, and Girona had many worried that Real's downhill slide would continue into the new year.
However, thankfully, that was not the case. Los Blancos won their final three matches of 2025, giving the team a much-needed boost heading into the new year and the crucial winter months of the season. Alonso and his men picked up right where they left off, winning their first game of 2026, and doing so in quite a dominant and unexpected fashion.
While a dominant victory is exactly what Alonso and his men need right now, their win may have inadvertently revealed an uncomfortable truth with Real Madrid, one that many fans may find a hard pill to swallow.
Real Madrid’s win over Real Betis may reveal an uncomfortable truth
Real Madrid's dominant 5-1 win over Real Betis may have revealed an uncomfortable truth about the team, one that many fans may have a hard time accepting, and that is that the team plays better as a team without Kylian Mbappe in the lineup.
While yes, Mbappe is arguably the best and most important player for Madrid this season, what Los Merengues' performance over Real Betis showed is hard to ignore. Their performance was very reminiscent of the 2023/24 season, with players like Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham looking back to their best form, and Gonzalo Garcia filling the centre-forward role previously occupied by Joselu before Mbappe's arrival.
Rodrygo bagged two assists, Gonzalo a hat-trick, and Bellingham looked back to his best, filling that false 9 role he found incredible success in during the 23/24 season. The team looked more cohesive in their attack, not trying to force the ball to just one target man, and more unified in their pressing, with Gonzalo willing to do the defensive work we don't usually see the Frenchman doing.
While Mbappe will no doubt be back in the starting lineup when he's back from injury, the performance against Real Betis is something to keep in mind if, once he returns, we see a different team that isn't as unified as the one we saw while he was sidelined.