Real Madrid made his debut on Wednesday evening under Xabi Alonso against Al-Hilal, and although it was the start of a new era, it was characterized by an uncomfortable and sticky heat in the Miami Sun. Their opposition was just as similar.
Despite the unfavorable circumstances, and the very early phase in the time of Alonso in the club, there were a few take-away restaurants of their 1-1 draw with the Saudi-Arab giants.
But first it must be acknowledged that if Alonso has to cook, it might take some time to bring this team to the boil. Both he and Thibaut Courtois wanted to indicate that they had only spent four training sessions together, and that turned out. The combination of the heat and the lack of conditioning sometimes had Fede Valverde in the term.
President Florentino Perez may be desperate to win this competition, but he will have to accept that Real Madrid is closer to the preseason than peak shape.
One of the myths about the Real Madrid of Carlo Ancelotti is that they did not press. The Italian tried in attacks and eruptions, and in different seasons, but could never fully configure it to spin like the German machines in the north of Europe. Alonso's side sometimes did badly, but there was an obligation to do this, and it worked back on different occasions.
A long -term issue, Alonso explained a desire for flexibility in his presentation, but it is honest to suspect that he might be a bit rigid, no this subject than his predecessor.
One of the most striking differences was how the defenders of Consciencious Real Madrid were on the ball. There were times when Trent Alexander-Arnold or Fran Garcia could have pushed forward and wide, but could have done the breaks. With possession deep in half of Al-Hilal, there were always three defenders at the level or behind the ball, and that Safety Catch helped Al-Hilal to limit in the second half.
There is no doubt that Dean Huijsen, who is only 20 years old, has imperfections and they were visible without the ball. However, it was difficult not to be pulled ahead in his meandering and paved steps, always weighed, always on time. It was refreshing to see Huijsen step into space when it is offered, and several of their best attacks came from Huijsen who behaved more like Luka Modric than most of their other midfielders.
It was noticeable that Modric only came up in the last minutes and Dani Ceballos couldn't get along at all. That is despite the fact that Jude Bellingham, Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni are struggling to inject pace in the game, with Arda Guler often their best solution in that respect. It was seen how many Los Blancos a midfielder missed with interpretative skills related to Modric or Toni Kroos last season. Even with Alexander-Arnold, Guler and Huijsen to take part of the burden, Alonso seems to set an unnecessary challenge to coach that.