“We missed a gear,” admits stunned manager after his previously perfect side is thrashed 5-2 by fierce rivals Atlético Madrid.
In a stunning reversal of fortune, Xabi Alonso’s perfect start as Real Madrid manager came to a crushing end Saturday with a 5-2 derby thrashing by Atlético Madrid that the coach bluntly called “a deserved defeat.”
The new boss offered no excuses after watching his league-leading side capitulate at the Metropolitano stadium. “It was a bad game from us,” Alonso said. “We didn’t start well and we didn’t play well collectively. We didn’t perform at the required level with or without the ball. We’re hurting because it was a deserved defeat. We missed a gear.”
The match unfolded as Alonso’s worst nightmare. His team fell behind early to a Robin Le Normand header, and despite briefly fighting back to take a 2-1 lead through Kylian Mbappé and Arda Güler, they collapsed after Alexander Sorloth’s equalizer just before halftime.
The second half belonged entirely to Atlético, with Julian Alvarez scoring twice from a penalty and a free-kick before Antoine Griezmann rubbed salt in the wounds with a fifth goal late on.
The defeat marked a brutal introduction to the Madrid derby for Alonso, whose side had won all six of their previous league games this season. As his players conducted a emotional lap of honor, Alonso was left to ponder what went wrong in his first major test as Real Madrid manager.
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