Real Madrid Overcome Post-Alonso Syndrome

VILLARREAL, SUNDAY – After experiencing difficulties during the coaching transition from Xabi Alonso to Alvaro Arbeloa, Real Madrid is now increasingly comfortable playing as a team. In their visit to Villarreal's home ground on Sunday (25/1/2026) early in the morning WIB, Real showcased one of their best performances of the season. Villarreal, which was predicted to pose a tough challenge, ultimately succumbed with a score of 0-2.

The difficulties experienced by Arbeloa when taking over the coaching baton from Alonso arose when the team was eliminated from the second division of the Spanish League, Albacete, in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey. This shocking defeat was nothing but a symptom or syndrome following Alonso's departure.

In some cases, the departure of a coach in the middle of the season does indeed affect the team's performance. There are several teams that can manage the transition period, while for others, this situation becomes a problem.

Slowly but surely, Real is starting to emerge from the shadows of the coaching transition. After losing to Albacete, Real secured convincing victories over Levante and AS Monaco in the UEFA Champions League. Nevertheless, some parties consider these two victories to be expected, as the player quality of Levante and Monaco is still below that of Real.

Arbeloa dispelled that notion with a victory over Villarreal at the Estadio de la Cerámica. This match was particularly significant for Villarreal, which is beginning to shift its focus to the domestic league rather than the Champions League. A positive result against Real will secure Villarreal's position in the top four of the league.

That is what prompted coach Marcelino to rest his key players when hosting Ajax Amsterdam in the middle of the week. Pape Guaye, Juan Foyth, Gerard Moreno, and Georges Mikautadze returned to Villarreal's starting lineup. Marcelino chose to deploy a full-strength squad from the outset, hoping to break Real's positive trend.

By deploying their full strength, Villarreal's attacking power has indeed increased. However, they are lacking in clinical finishing in the final third of the attack. On the other hand, Real, who were without Aurelien Tchouameni due to a red card suspension, managed to maintain a solid defense in a 4-4-2 formation when under attack.

We need to keep working. We have shown a very serious and solid performance. However, we still have room for improvement.

The absence of Tchouameni raised concerns due to his ability to fill gaps in Real's defense during a negative transition period. Real still has Eduardo Camavinga as an alternative to replace Tchouameni. However, Camavinga's performance has been inconsistent.

Without Tchouameni, Real can maintain their cohesion as a team unit. The players are quick to close down Villarreal's passing options. The four defenders of Real keep their distance as tight as possible with the four midfielders to prevent Villarreal players from receiving the ball in the spaces between the lines.

The effort successfully prevented Villarreal from advancing deeper into Real's defensive area. Villarreal recorded only 19 touches in Real's penalty box. This number is significantly lower than Real, which managed to make up to 34 touches.

"We need to keep working. We have shown a very serious and solid performance. However, we still have room for improvement. We have only gone through a few training sessions together and have not really had the time to collaborate. Most of it has been recovery sessions. So we still have many things to enhance in every aspect," said Arbeloa.

The solidity in the defense line is also evident in the front line. Real's attackers demonstrated a game that relied on collectivity. The opening goal for Real came from Gueye's mistake in anticipating the pullback pass from Vinicius Junior. The ball was then seized by Kylian Mbappe from close range.

Mbappe doubled Real's lead through a penalty execution. Until the end, Villarreal was unable to score a reply. This marks Arbeloa's second consecutive victory in La Liga, having scored four goals without conceding any. This performance serves as a foundation to continue pressuring Barcelona at the top of the standings.

Real temporarily displaced Barca at the top with a collection of 51 points, one point ahead of Barca. However, the top position in the standings could be reclaimed by Barca, who will face Real Oviedo in another match.

"This motivates us. I see a lot of momentum in terms of morale. These victories strengthen us as a team. The energy that was sometimes lacking because we were not getting results, we now have," said Real captain Federico Valverde. (REUTERS)