EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The glitz and glamor which can be a defining factor of the Actual Madrid expertise had been on full show at MetLife Stadium on Saturday, full with the Membership World Cup’s second-biggest crowd thus far and a win over Borussia Dortmund to e book a spot within the semifinals. The benefit of a 2-0 win on the ninetieth minute devolved into sheer chaos in stoppage time with the scoreline 3-2 in Actual Madrid’s favor by the ultimate whistle, a pink card to Dean Huijsen solely including to the drama. It was not solely a bump within the highway for the Membership World Cup semifinalists, although – the stoppage time mess launched a brand new set of lineup questions for supervisor Xabi Alonso, who was not precisely wanting them when the match had an easier scoreline.
Earlier than stoppage time started, it appeared like Gonzalo Garcia was as soon as once more the star of Actual Madrid’s present. The 21-year-old scored the sport’s opening objective after simply 10 minutes, including a fourth objective to his stellar tally on the Membership World Cup. He was not the one newcomer to go away his mark on the sport, both, with 20-year-old Arda Guler notching the help to Garcia’s objective and new signing Trent Alexander-Arnold recording an help of his personal 10 minutes in a while Fran Garcia‘s objective. The opening objective provided a real glimpse at Actual Madrid’s subsequent technology of attackers, with Guler’s well-placed lengthy ball and Gonzalo Garcia’s spectacular flick in entrance of objective.
Greater than 80 minutes after Garcia left his mark on the match, although, Kylian Mbappe matched the 21-year-old’s output on Saturday with a objective of his personal. It ended up changing into the sport winner, arising with a surprising flying kick that provided reminders of the standard that made him an apparent selection when Madrid signed him final 12 months. It additionally launched a brand new iteration of Actual Madrid’s year-long conundrum about the place precisely Kylian Mbappe suits into the image.
Garcia might have began as a placeholder for a gastroenteritis-stricken Mbappe, however with Actual Madrid simply two video games away from their first trophy because the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League, it’s exhausting to check new supervisor Xabi Alonso dropping the 21-year-old from the lineup. There’s nonetheless a rawness to Alonso’s model of Actual Madrid, who he hopes will resemble his high-intensity Bayer Leverkusen group, in addition to some reminders of why the group must evolve after 4 profitable however inconsistent years with Carlo Ancelotti on the helm. Whereas imperfect was a function, putting a steadiness grew to become all of the tougher after Mbappe turned up. It isn’t a mirrored image of Mbappe’s high quality – the 43 objectives he has thus far in a Madrid shirt would point out in any other case – however with Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo amongst Los Blancos’ attacking choices, Ancelotti was unable to search out the proper match for all three.
It meant that for a lot of, Alonso’s main process as Actual Madrid’s new supervisor can be to discover a strategy to make Mbappe’s pure place on the sphere, with the Membership World Cup providing an early probability to search out the solutions. Alonso and Mbappe had been unfortunate with the participant’s gastroenteritis analysis, which compelled him to overlook the group stage and even led Alonso to explain his potential to begin on Saturday as a gameday resolution. His 23-minute shift at MetLife Stadium, coupled with an analogous outing in Tuesday’s spherical of 16 win over Juventus, signifies that Alonso might have to decide on between Garcia and Mbappe once they face Paris Saint-Germain, Mbappe’s former membership, in Wednesday’s semifinal.
Alonso has not outright dismissed the thought of Garcia and Mbappe taking the sphere alongside Vinicius, however how precisely these three discover a strategy to play collectively is a brand new headache for the most recent Madrid supervisor. That’s with the consideration that Rodrygo is probably going on his method out, which ought to, in concept, make Alonso’s load lighter. Garcia’s efficiency is arguably a champagne downside, true to type for a group that may be a fixed illustration of what soccer elitism seems to be like. An excellent downside, although, continues to be an issue. Discovering methods to win, simply as Madrid did on Saturday, is as robust an answer as any, however Mbappe’s half in these wins might outline Alonso’s legacy at Actual Madrid, even whether it is nonetheless the early days of his tenure.
