Real Madrid put in yet another tantalising display, this time against Borussia Dortmund as they won 3-2 at MetLife Stadium to get to the semi-finals of the Club World Cup.
Real Madrid were brilliant for 80-85 minutes of the game, and despite the blip in the end that resulted in a red card and two goals conceded, they played admirably.
Real Madrid had multiple standout performers, and one of them was Fran Garcia, who keeps showing up for Xabi Alonso in this new era.
Xabi Alonso keeps raising the bar for his players
He scored Real Madrid's second goal, and Alonso, in his press conference after the win, talked about how he helped Garcia get to goalscoring opportunities.
He said: "The other day, I told Fran Garcia, 'You need to crash the box. If you are too far, you can't score. If you are in the box, you will score', and that is what happened. He crashed the box, and he scored."
Alonso was right all along. I mean, it is not even about the goal. Even if you take the goal out of the performance, Garcia still had an exceptional game - one of his best as a Real Madrid player.
But the goal definitely adds to it. I mean, he was great on both ends and it has been the case ever since Alonso took over. It is clear that Garcia is Alonso's preferred type of full-back, in the sense that he has an engine that just does not stop, and he can attack and defend as well.
Real Madrid still need a left-back, but life is much better when you have a defender that is able to produce something on both ends. It was not the case when Ferland Mendy was starting every match with Lucas Vazquez on the other end.
This, however, is much better, and it is clear that Alonso thinks so, too.