Xabi Alonso called for patience after Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw with Al Hilal in their opening game at the Club World Cup, saying implementing the changes he wants to make “will take time.”
Madrid struggled in the first half at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, before young forward Gonzalo García put them ahead in the 34th minute.
Rúben Neves equalised for Al Hilal from the penalty spot, and Madrid had the chance to win the game in added time with another penalty, only for goalkeeper Yassine Bounou to save Federico Valverde‘s spot kick.
“The second half was much better than the first,” Alonso said in his post-match news conference. “In the first half we lacked a lot of things, we didn’t have balance. We’ve talked about that.
“I liked the reaction. We were able to change our rhythm, have more control, and play more in the opposition half. It’s a process. We have to take the positives and look to improve.”
Alonso, who replaced predecessor Carlo Ancelotti after Madrid failed to land a major trophy last season, only took his first training session on June 9, before flying to the United States for the tournament.
“I knew it would take time,” he said. “There are things we have to change. We’ll have to correct them, and we’ll keep doing that. Everything takes time, we’ve had nine days, and some players have had just three training sessions. It’s demanding, we’re in a competition, but we want to learn, and what we want to do will take time.”
“[Alonso] wants to see his way of playing, a different way to defend and a different way to attack,” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said. “We were with Ancelotti for four years, we have some ‘automatisms’ and we have to change them to what the new coach wants.
“That doesn’t happen in four days. We’re trying, we’re watching videos, talking a lot, and it will get better. We’ll learn a lot from this first game.”
Madrid were without star forward Kylian Mbappé — who scored 43 goals in all competitions last season — for the game, after he came down with a fever this week.
“We don’t know,” Alonso said, when asked if Mbappé would return for Madrid’s next game with Pachuca on Sunday. “We’ll have to see how his recovery goes. The last two days he’s been ill with a virus.”
