Online Reporter
REAL Madrid host Villarreal today aiming to get their Spanish LaLiga football campaign back on track after a punishing derby defeat last weekend.
Xabi Alonso’s side’s perfect start to the campaign came to a juddering halt with a 5-2 beating by rivals Atletico Madrid, with the repercussions from it felt over the past week.
The coach was keen to move on after admitting his team deserved to lose, but some Madrid players have been ruminating on it.
Striker Kylian Mbappe said Madrid “cannot forget” what happened and had to keep working to avoid having another night in the same vein, after thrashing Kazakh minnows Kairat on Tuesday in the Champions League.
Midfielder Fede Valverde cited a lack of “attitude” multiple times when asked about the derby loss and said players had spoken among themselves and with the staff about it.
Alonso said just blaming the team’s attitude was “too simplistic”, and also dropped Valverde for the game against Kairat.
The Uruguayan midfielder had been tipped to fill in at right-back after Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dani Carvajal’s injuries, as he has done before, but insisted he was “not born to play” in the position.
Alonso deployed Raul Asencio there instead, with Spanish media reporting it was a punishment for Valverde saying he did not want to feature in that role.
“I know I have had bad games, I am aware of it. I do not hide and I face it. I am really sad,” wrote Valverde on social media on Wednesday.
“They can say many things about me, but under no circumstances can they say that I refuse to play.
“I have given everything and more for this club, I have played with fractures, injuries and I have never complained or asked for a break.”
How Alonso fits in England international Jude Bellingham is another question to be answered. The coach brought him in for a first start of the season against Atletico, but Bellingham struggled to make an impact.
Bellingham was also benched against Kairat, but unlike Valverde, was introduced as a substitute.
The midfielder’s inclusion against Atletico led to Arda Guler being pushed out to the right, even though the Turkish playmaker has impressed in a more central role so far under Alonso.
Fixtures
Today: Oviedo v Levante (2pm), Girona v Valencia (4:15pm), Athletic Club v Mallorca (6:30pm), Real Madrid v Villarreal (9pm)
Tomorrow: Alaves v Elche (2pm), Sevilla v Barcelona (4:15pm), Espanyol v Real Betis, Real Sociedad v Rayo Vallecano (both 6:30pm), Celta Vigo v Atletico Madrid (9pm). – AFP Sport.
