Xabi Alonso Sends Big Warning To Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr: “Things Will Be Complicated…

New Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso warned his team’s stars including Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday that they must all pitch in defensively. Last season under Carlo Ancelotti Los Blancos failed to win a major trophy and the Italian was at times exasperated with his forward line’s unwillingness to work hard enough for the sake of the team as a whole. “What I am certain of is that we need and want everyone to defend — the 11 players on the pitch have to be involved defensively,” Alonso told a news conference ahead of Madrid’s Club World Cup clash against RB Salzburg.
“They have to get close together, they have to know how we want to press, and without that, things will be very complicated.

“Vini, Jude (Bellingham), Fede (Valverde), Kylian, those up front, the defence has to push forward too.”

Ancelotti said last season that he was not concerned if Mbappe pressed or not and wanted the striker to focus on goalscoring.

The 26-year-old netted 43 goals across all competitions in his first season at the Santiago Bernabeu after his move from Paris Saint-Germain.

Real Madrid face Austrian side Salzburg in Philadelphia on Thursday, looking to seal top spot in their final Group H match, but will be without Mbappe.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *