It was a tough end to the year for Real Madrid, despite winning their final two La Liga games. After a strong start to the season under new head coach Xabi Alonso, they had a horrific November and early December.
After leading Barcelona by five points, three consecutive draws and a defeat to Celta Vigo left Los Blancos four points behind and raised serious questions about Alonso and the team.
The media have sharpened their knives, waiting for Alonso's downfall, and many expect him not to last. Journalist Tomás Roncero is on the opposite side of the argument and believes that the Spaniard is not the problem. In fact, he identified what he thinks is the problem while naming two players who are not performing.
Roncero believes Xabi Alonso is not the problem
Xabi Alonso
IMAGO / DeFodi Images
Speaking on the Cadena SER radio program 'El Larguero', Tomás Roncero disagreed that Real Madrid's poor form is due to Xabi Alonso. The Journalist believes it lies with some of the players.
"People have realized that Xabi Alonso isn't the problem, well, he's not the biggest problem. People see that he's struggling to find the right formula and that the dressing room isn't fully behind him as much as they'd like, but they notice that the players' attitude, especially in the big games, leaves much to be desired, particularly from the stars."
Tomás Roncero
When it comes to the players' attitude, Roncern picked out two players in particular: Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr.
"People expect more from Bellingham and Vinicius . Apart from Mbappé , the other two aren't up to par."
Tomás Roncero
Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr
IMAGO / Pressinphoto
Most would agree with Vinicius Jr.'s performances. However, the jury is split on Jude Bellingham. The English international missed the first two months of the season, recovering from shoulder surgery. Since then, he has worked his way back to form. Yes, he is not at his absolute best, but he his impacting games.
His work effort can't be faulted either, and he is the first to stand up and say he needs to perform better when under par.
ne thing is for sure: there are problems at Real Madrid, and if they want to win trophies, they need to fix them quickly in 2026. On the field, we have seen bright sparks, but the inconsistency for the full 90 minutes is a concern. Can Alonso unlock what's holding the team back, starting against Real Betis on January 4?
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