When Xabi Alonso was announced as the new Real Madrid manager earlier this year, several changes were expected to take place at the club following the departure of Carlo Ancelotti. Changes to the squad, philosophy, and tactics have all started to take shape in the few short months of the Spaniard's tenure, and more are expected as time goes on.
So far, we've seen some of these changes be positive but also some negative, but given he's still a young manager and very much a long-term project at Real Madrid, some of his biggest changes will take some time to fully implement. However, Real Madrid is not the kind of club that likes to take their time with things.
In the dying days of Carlo Ancelotti's tenure, fans were crying out for something new, and Xabi Alonso has started to show them something new; however, as much as things changes, they stay the same, and Xabi Alonso's biggest flaw proves that exact point.
Xabi Alonso's biggest flaw is impossible for Real Madrid to ignore
One of Carlo Ancelotti's biggest flaws was his stubbornness and refusal to make in-game tactical changes and substitutions, and that would cost Ancelotti results, and it is beginning to do the same to Xabi Alonso.
Real Madrid's two most recent results sum up this issue perfectly. Starting with the 1-0 loss to Liverpool, the team was lacking all over the pitch, but most evident in the attack and in need of a goal and instead of making a change in formation or tactics, he kept the same game plan from the opening whistle to full time.
The attack needed a boost, but Xabi Alonso waited until the 70th minute to start making attacking substitutes, followed but subs in the 81st and 90th minutes. Many fans questioned why he waited so long to make attacking changes when the team needed to find a goal, and in the end, it cost Real the three points.
And unfortunately for Real Madrid, the same problem persisted in their 0-0 draw with Rayo Vallecano over the weekend. The team needed some kind of juice in the attack, but Xabi Alonso once again waited until the 71st minute to make changes, first bringing on Dani Ceballos, followed by Rodrygo in the 79th minute, and Trent Alexander-Arnold in the 83rd minute.
Xabi Alonso's stubbornness to make substitutes and even changes to his starting lineup is what is going to cost Real key results this season. One of the most obvious problems in the starting lineup is the lacking presence of a target man in the attack.
It wouldn't hurt to try changing to a front three and giving Endrick or Gonzalo Garcia a run in the team to see what they can do. Gonzalo won the Golden Boot at the Club World Cup this summer as the starting striker, and those goals could be what Xabi Alonso's men are missing.