Real Madrid had a perfect evening thanks to their 5-0 victory over Kairat Almaty . Their attacking leader, Kylian Mbappé, scored a hat-trick and the club provisionally took the lead in the Champions League standings . However, the Madrid press noted two surprising facts from the match. The first was the exit of Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian, who started, was asked to give up his place to his compatriot Rodrygo in the 71st minute. A decision by his coach that visibly angered the Brazilian, who left furious .
More questioned than ever this season, the number 7 of the Real Madrid team had already acted in this way when his coach decided to take him off at almost the same time against Espanyol. Questioned at a press conference, Xabi Alonso tried to shift the blame as best he could. " No, no. Another day if you want, not today. You always have to control yourself, and nothing happened. The story about Vini is not what you might think. It wasn't a complaint, it was a comment that we understood. What Vinicius did wasn't a response. " Unfortunately for the Spanish coach, one controversy chased another.
The Valverde enigma
Federico Valverde, who was present at a press conference alongside Alonso the day before the match, was left on the bench for the entire match. This surprised many, as a player who appears in front of the media usually plays the next day. A versatile midfielder, the Uruguayan was expected to once again fill in at right-back with the injuries to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dani Carvajal. However, rumors were circulating on the other side of the Pyrenees that Valverde no longer wanted to play the role of firefighter in this position.
Did the South American pay for it tonight by staying stuck on the bench? Again, Alsono quickly tried to cloud the issue. " I was watching the match and I didn't understand a word of what you said. It was a decision I made. Fede is always ready to step in. He's a very generous player, with a good temperament, and if the match had demanded it, he would have played, like Carreras. You have to pace yourself. They played almost the entire match, and it's a decision of that kind. " To be continued.
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