Why Raúl Asencio was taken off at half-time in Real Madrid 1-1 Al-Hilal | OneFootball

Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso has provided an explanation for his decision to haul Raúl Asencio off prematurely in the club’s latest outing.

Real, of course, were back in action late on Wednesday evening.

In their first outing at the newly-formatted Club World Cup, Los Blancos locked horns with Saudi outfit Al-Hilal.

When all was said and done, the Alonso era was kicked into gear in disappointing fashion, by way of a 1-1 stalemate.

The aforementioned Asencio, meanwhile, featured from the off in Miami, from his customary berth at the heart of defence.

With just 45 minutes on the clock, however, the 22-year-old was hooked from proceedings, replaced by Arda Güler.

Speaking to the media on the back of the full-time whistle at the Hard Rock Stadium, it therefore came as little surprise when the subject of Asencio’s withdrawal was put to boss Xabi Alonso.

And the Spanish tactician went on to confirm:

“He’s been on antibiotics these past few days, and he’s been suffering a lot because of it. That’s why he was substituted. It was very hot.”

Conor Laird – GSFN