Perplexing decisions from Xabi Alonso, poor defending and a lifeless attack all contributed to Real Madrid’s 4–0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
With a trip to the FIFA Club World Cup on the line, Real Madrid put together their worst performance of the Alonso era. The Spanish giants conceded four goals, managed just two shots on target and all-but allowed Luis Enrique’s men to do whatever they wanted at MetLife Stadium.
The defeat ended Los Blancos’ quest for their first trophy since the departure of Carlo Ancelotti. With the 2025–26 season set to kick off in less than six weeks, Alonso must take the lopsided loss and analyze what went wrong for his side to avoid repeating the same mistakes moving forward.
Here’s four things Alonso learned from Real Madrid’s poor performance against the reigning European champions.
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