Before the away trip to Oviedo, Xabi Alonso ordered the team to continue the winning streak in the opening match of La Liga 2025/26. To add to the determination, the Real Madrid captain made a bold choice of 11 starting players.

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Xabi Alonso 'revolutionized' Real Madrid's lineup in the 3-0 win over Oviedo. Photo: RM

It was a decision described as “ the Real Madrid starting lineup against Oviedo that surprised both insiders and outsiders, including President Florentino Perez” .

That lineup included Courtois; Carvajal, Rudiger, Huijsen, Carreras; Tchouameni, Valverde, Guler; Mastantuono, Mbappe and Rodrygo . The highlights here are clear: Xabi pushed Vinicius to the bench, giving Rodrygo a chance, captain Carvajal regained his position from Trent Alexander-Arnold, or young star Mastantuono was given a starting position after a few minutes of good performance in the opening match against Osasuna,...

President Perez was said to have said after looking at the Real Madrid starting lineup against Oviedo: "It's time to rotate. He (Xabi Alonso) has all the qualities to succeed as Real Madrid head coach. I believe in him."

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Mbappe flourished at the beginning of the season with the Vultures, scoring 3 goals in 2 matches. Photo: RM

For his part, Xabi simply explained the choice: “ In football, decisions are made for the good of the team. The changes in Real Madrid's squad depend on what we need in terms of playing style, workload and who the opponent is.

I want the players to feel important and ready to play at any time. This is very important for the challenging season ahead .”

Xabi's message was that no one was guaranteed a place and everyone could be replaced. Rodrygo had his chance on 63 minutes, and was visibly frustrated when he was substituted for Vinicius – who assisted Mbappe's goal and sealed a 3-0 win for Real Madrid.

Xabi also spoke about Mbappe, who has three goals in two games: “ I saw him extremely focused, enthusiastic and inspiring the whole team. Mbappe did everything very well, like the opening match against Osasuna .”

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/xabi-gay-nao-loan-doi-hinh-real-madrid-chu-tich-perez-phan-ung-la-2435726.html