'No one should feel offended for not playing a game' - Alonso on benching Vinicius

Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso expressed his satisfaction with his team's progress after their Champions League opener against Olympique Marseille (2-1), highlighting the first half hour and promising that “in four months' time, they will be even better.”

“We are growing, progressing, at an important moment, seeing that we can compete by doing things right. I really liked the first half hour. We will learn from the negatives to maintain continuity in the good phases. Today was demanding against a Marseille side with good players and a system that demands a lot from you. We were quite effective in pressing. In four months, it will be even better,” he said at a press conference.

Xabi Alonso acknowledged that captain Dani Carvajal's sending off was “avoidable” and gave his opinion on the second penalty, which gave Real Madrid the win. “I only saw it out of the corner of my eye and I don't have a strong opinion, but today it went our way.” In his analysis of the match, Xabi lamented the lack of accuracy at times when his team was far superior in the first half. “The first half hour was fantastic, very good. I really liked the pressing against a team that has very well-rehearsed automatisms. The team was very confident, we had chances and we just needed to convert them to reward our good play,” he said.

Xabi confirmed that both Eduardo Camavinga and Jude Bellingham, who were called up but did not play on Tuesday, “are already much better and will be able to play on Saturday” against Espanyol in LaLiga EA Sports. He also sent a message of reassurance regarding Trent Alexander-Arnold's muscle problem, which occurred three minutes into the game. “We're going to wait a bit with Trent, maybe it's not as bad as it could be,” he said.

Xabi Alonso played down the fact that Brazilian Vinicius was on the bench, for the second time in five games this season, and assured that “no one should feel offended.” "We are at a very demanding point in the calendar and we need everyone, Vini, Rodrygo, Franco, Brahim, Gonzalo... The important thing is that everyone feels prepared because we are going to need them during the season," he said at a press conference when asked about Vinícius for the first time.

Later, without revealing what he had discussed with the Brazilian, he sent a message of reassurance. "If there are private conversations, they stay in the dressing room. There's a time for everyone and no one is going to play every game. No one should feel offended for not playing a game.“ ”We need everyone. The schedule is very demanding. Vini has come in well and the changes are having a very good impact. It's not just the starters who are important, football doesn't work that way," he said.