Xabi Alonso privately apologised to Real Madrid starlet over pointed remark after Alaves clash | OneFootball

Last weekend, Xabi Alonso was able to preserve his role as Real Madrid head coach thanks to a narrow win over Deportivo Alaves.

In the lead-up to the game, the Spanish manager made a conscious decision to start youth player Victor Valdepenas as both left-backs Fran Garcia and Alvaro Carreras were suspended.

It was the debut game for Valdepenas, who is a centre-back by trade but can easily slot in as a left-back, as he did against Alaves.

The youngster, though, was unfortunately culpable for Alaves’ only goal of the game as he completely lost track of Carlos Vicente, who equalised in the 68th minute.

In the post-match presser, Xabi Alonso made his feelings towards Valdepenas known as he said, “We conceded on the only occasion that Valdepenas made a mistake, because in all the others he was very accurate and played very well..”

Xabi Alonso apologised to Valdepenas

Alonso did not want to single out Victor Valdepenas for mistake vs Alaves. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

However, as reported by MARCA, Xabi Alonso privately apologised to Valdepenas after making that pointed remark during the post-match presser.

Although the Real Madrid manager actually wanted to highlight Valdepenas’ effort on the night, the way he said it made it appear as a negative comment towards the teenage prospect.

Realising his mistake, Alonso was quick to apologise to Valdepenas, who was an unused substitute as Real Madrid secured a narrow win over Talavera in the Copa Del Rey Round of 32.

The Real Madrid coach wanted to clear the air in a face-to-face conversation, which is why he apologised to the player privately.

Nevertheless, Valdepenas will look to move on from the incident and try to gather more game time during the second half of the season.