Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso said that Wednesday's 4-0 thrashing by Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup semifinals is "good for us".
Aiming to win the newly-reimagined FIFA summer tournament, Madrid was bulldozed by Luis Enrique’s Champions League holders who will now face Premier League giants Chelsea in the final on Sunday.
Reacting to the loss, Alonso, who took over from Carlo Ancelotti in May, lamented a terrible start for Los Blancos. It found them two goals down in eight minutes, thanks to defensive blunders from Raul Asencio and Antonio Rudiger capitalized upon by Fabian Ruiz and Ousmane Dembele respectively.
“The start of the match marked [the tie] a lot, it was uphill for us in the 10th minute,” he said. “PSG is a two-year project and we have been there for a short time, it is a sign of what we have left to work on and obviously it hurts.”
Alonso admitted that the two early goals proved to be too much to overcome against a team that has a “good level”. “There’s a lot to analyse and a lot to learn from today’s defeat,” he admitted, though he tried to look on the bright side of things.
“Today is good for us to know the route that we have left to improve. We are starting, we have been in the context of a competition for three weeks and without training, and now we know where we are and to look at where we want to be and prepare for it. In four weeks we are back,” he noted.
Alonso insists that the thrashing “is not the starting point for next season”. “I’m sure. There are things that have been good in this process, but today is not the start of next season, it’s the end of this season and we’ll start in a different way,” he vowed.
Real Madrid legends bow out with loss
The last four loss was the final appearance for Real Madrid legends Luka Modric and Lucas Vazquez, who will now move on. “It has been a short time, but I have been with them trying to make them enjoy their last days for what they have meant. It is not the best farewell, but I thank them on behalf of everyone for what they have meant [to the club]
,” Alonso said regarding this.