Xabi Alonso will need time to mold Real Madrid into a team that reflects his image. In his first stint at the Whites, the man who wore the Real Madrid shirt between 2009 and 2014 didn't receive much praise from the Spanish press. His team looked a lot like Carlo Ancelotti's, as Thibaut Courtois pointed out, and lacked creativity once they reached the edge of the opposing penalty area. And on top of that, the Madrid players fell back into their old ways: once again, they missed a penalty.
Against Al-Hilal, Vinicius's teammates were awarded a late, decisive penalty with the score at 1-1. Federico Valverde took the penalty, but Yassine Bounou saved it. This missed attempt adds to a very long list of unconverted eleven-meter kicks this season: since the start of the season, Real Madrid have missed 7 of their 19 attempts, the worst ratio of any team in Europe's top five leagues. The icing on the cake: the Casa Blanca have taken the most shots.
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