Xabi Alonso talks Fran Garcia, Vinicius and poor run of form after Elche 2-2 Real Madrid | OneFootball

Real Madrid scampered to a 2-2 draw against Elche with two controversial goals last night to salvage a point in a game where they were surprisingly dominated.

The hosts, playing their usual brand of attacking and high-pressing football, put Los Blancos under serious pressure and inconvenience and even took the lead early in the second half.

A few late goals later, the scoreline read 2-2, forcing the men in white to settle for a third straight game having dropped points.

Alonso’s press conference

Facing the press after the game, Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso reacted to the team dropping two points once more and urged them to move past the slump.

“That’s football. After a good run, we’re now getting results that aren’t what we wanted. But we still know what we want. We have to keep moving forward.”

Speaking on what was going on with the team that they have now dropped points in three successive games, the manager said,

“We’re not happy because we know perfectly well that we always want to win, and when we don’t, we can’t be happy.

Xabi Alonso was not happy with the result. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

“There are still many games left before the end of the year, and we have to start thinking about the next one by analysing what we’ve done today,” he added.

Despite the result not going his team’s way, the manager found the silver lining and spoke in admiration of how they never gave up on the night.

“The team never gave up. We’re still competing. We know that the context of each game is different.

“Obviously, the result could be better. We’re aware of that and we’re self-critical, but the direction is clear, the spirit remains good and we have to respond in the face of adversity,” he added.

Labelling everything said in the media as ‘noise’, Alonso spoke about adapting to the high pressure and how there was no room for error at the club.

“This is Real Madrid and every unfavourable result attracts criticism, which we have to live with. We want to improve. The team never gave up.”

Addressing the dressing room noise

The coach was then asked about his connection with the dressing room, probably in light of recent rumours that there is a rift between him and some big names behind the scenes.

“The connection is improving because we have more time, we interact more and we’re getting to know each other better. We’re all in the same boat, everyone together in the same direction.

“We celebrate victories, we suffer, as we did today, and we’re not happy when we don’t get the desired result.

“The connection is good, the day-to-day is good. We need to turn this moment around a little bit and we have the opportunity to do so starting in Athens,” he added on the upcoming UCL game.

Explaining the lineup

Fran Garcia started against Elche. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

Alonso opted for a queer formation last night with both Alvaro Carreras and Fran Garcia starting. While the former played as a left-back, the latter almost played as a left interior midfielder.

“He’s played a lot in that position. We had players who had been here and had more training time.

“We have players on the bench who could be important in bringing freshness,” he said on Garcia.

“We tried to have that width on both wings, doing it a little differently. Then, in the second half, Vini also came on to give us width,” he added.

Dean Huijsen’s late goal helped Real Madrid equalise the score in the 78th minute, but Elche instantly took the lead once more just six minutes later. On his team having to do better, he said,

“It was a shame that after making it 1-1 we conceded; we went 2-1 down when it was time to go for the comeback. That 2-1 hurt us, but despite that, we kept fighting.

“We made it 2-2 and had another good chance to come back. I felt that when it was 1-1 we should have thrown ourselves into the opposition’s half and not conceded that second,” he added.

The Vinicius decision

Alonso also took the chance to address benching Vinicius Jr. on the night and how both parties had agreed that he would sit out the game against Elche.

Vinicius Jr. was benched against Elche. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

“We’d talked about it, as we often do. He understands. He knew the role and the impact he could have. We’d done it before, like in the game against Getafe.

“He’s still connected. Today we’re not as happy as we’d like to be, but everyone is energised and wants to get back to a good result and a good dynamic,” he added.

Finally, the coach was asked what his biggest concerns were around the team’s poor form, to which he said,

“I analyse everything after the games. I try to draw conclusions with the coaching staff and convey to the players what we’re doing well and what we need to improve.

“Today I felt we lacked that continuity after making it 1-1 and going 2-1 down.

“It hurt us a little, but despite that, we came back. In the first half, the game was working in our favour to put us ahead, even though we didn’t manage it,” he concluded.

Source: Real Madrid website