Liverpool will face Real Madrid in the Champions League at Anfield on Tuesday night - and Xabi Alonso has made his feelings on the game known
Xabi Alonso, head coach of Real Madrid
Xabi Alonso, head coach of Real Madrid, has issued a warning to Liverpool(Image: Dennis Agyeman / AFP7 via Getty Images)
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Xabi Alonso wasted little time in turning his attention to Liverpool following Real Madrid’s victory over Valencia. The Reds will take on the La Liga giants on Tuesday night in their fourth league phase Champions League fixture.
Liverpool have six points from their opening three matches in this season's competition, after victories against Atletico Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt. Arne Slot's side had lost four consecutive Premier League matches before beating Aston Villa 2-0 at Anfield on Saturday night.
Madrid, on the other hand, claimed a 4-0 victory over Valencia in La Liga at the same time, and no sooner had the full-time whistle gone at the Santiago Bernabeu, Real's focus turned to Liverpool.
“Things turned out well. In the second half, we were able to manage the game well because we knew we had a match on Tuesday," Alonso said.
"We had to be smart because some players had played a lot of minutes, and a lot of things went well. We don't want to relax, and we want to approach every game with the necessary mental preparation.
"Today we did that. Now it's time for Tuesday in the Champions League and Sunday in Vallecas. Starting tomorrow, it's Liverpool and Liverpool.”
Xabi Alonso was linked with the Liverpool role before Arne Slot's appointment.
Xabi Alonso was linked with the Liverpool role before Arne Slot's appointment.(Image: Photo by Jörg Schüler/Bayer 04 Leverkusen via Getty Images)
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Reflecting on his side returning to winning ways, Reds boss Slot said: "Happy with the result, with the performance and what I saw today, not only from the players but also the support we got from the fans, was what we needed today.
"Maybe we were a bit more on the lucky side than we've been in the last few weeks, where in my opinion we were also unlucky. So, the mistake of their goalkeeper and the deflection led to two of our goals.
"These are the margins we are talking about. I think in other games we've created more from open play than we did today. But in football it's about results, not about the chances you create from open play."
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