Xabi Alonso offered no excuses for Real Madrid’s performance after his team suffered a humbling 5-2 defeat against rivals Atletico Madrid on Saturday, ending their perfect start to the La Liga season.
Alonso Makes No Excuses for Real Madrid’s Derby Defeat
The match at the Metropolitano stadium saw Atletico score five goals against Real Madrid for the first time since 1950.
The hosts took an early lead through a Robin Le Normand header, but Real Madrid responded with goals from Kylian Mbappé and Arda Güler to take a 2-1 lead.
Atletico leveled the score just before halftime with a powerful header from Alexander Sørloth.
The second half belonged to Julián Álvarez. The Argentine striker first converted a penalty after Güler conceded a spot-kick with a high boot, then sealed the victory with a brilliant curling free-kick that beat goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Substitute Antoine Griezmann added a fifth goal in stoppage time to complete the emphatic win.
Following the match, Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso was direct in his assessment. “It was a bad game from us,” he stated.
“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”.
He described the defeat as deserved and acknowledged that the team was hurting, emphasizing the importance of learning from the experience and reacting positively.
For Atlético, the victory was particularly emotional for coach Diego Simeone and marked a vital turnaround after their troubled start to the campaign. The win moves Atlético to within six points of the league leaders.
The result means Barcelona can overtake Real Madrid at the top of the table with a win against Real Sociedad on Sunday.
