Tchouameni defends Xabi Alonso ahead of Real Madrid vs Manchester City – ‘Not the manager’s fault…’ | OneFootball

Aurelien Tchouameni joined Xabi Alonso in the pre-match press conference as Real Madrid get set to take on Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night.

The team finds itself under intense pressure, following the shock 2-0 loss to Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday night.

Manager Xabi Alonso, in particular, could be facing the axe, especially if things go against the Merengues tomorrow when they face Pep Guardiola’s men.

Amidst all the noise surrounding the team, Tchouameni came out and defended Alonso, insisting that the manager was not at fault for the defeat against Celta last Sunday.

“Against Celta, the coach had a good plan. But we players are the ones on the pitch. If we lose 0-2, it means there was a problem on our part, such as a lack of intensity. It’s not the coach’s problem. We’re going to improve,” he firmly stated.

Regarding his and the players’ relationship with the 44-year-old manager, Tchouameni remarked:

“We’re all in this together. If we want to win, we all have to fight. With the manager, with the team. We’re on the pitch and we have to do things better. Tomorrow we have a good opportunity to change the dynamic.”

The manager has asked for greater intensity from the team, while former manager Carlo Ancelotti also talked about the team needing to perform more collectively last season.

So, on being asked if the issue was the attitude of the players, Tchouameni replied:

“I don’t know about attitude, but if we’re not winning, it’s because we need to do things better. Play better in defence and attack. We have to do things better. We hope we can do that. What’s happening now is not acceptable.”

Tchouameni acknowledges that Real Madrid need to improve. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Regarding the lack of intensity in the team’s pressing in recent games, he noted: “We need to improve in that area. We want to press high up the pitch from the start. Sometimes we do it well, sometimes very badly. We need to improve in order to win back more balls.”

On whether he understands why people are criticising the team and their low intensity in pressing, Tchouameni commented:

“Against Celta, of course, and in others too. If we don’t play with maximum intensity, it will be very difficult to win games. We have to understand that to win those games, we have to give our all. We didn’t do that against Celta, and we have to do it tomorrow.”

Moving forward, Tchouameni explained what they can expect from Manchester City tomorrow, saying:

“City are a great team, especially with the ball. We’re going to have to be very compact in defence and also when we have the ball, to create opportunities for our attackers. It’ll be a very entertaining match.”

On coming up against a top centre-forward like Erling Haaland, he noted: “We’ll talk about the game plan with the manager today. We have a lot of injuries in defence, but there are many who can perform at a high level.

“We have to defend together and show commitment. We’re playing against a great team. Haaland is incredible, but if we play to our level, we can win that game.”

Source: AS