The atmosphere should make us play with energy and concentration, says Los Blancos boss
Xabi Alonso has called on his Real Madrid players to be consistent and maintain their focus as they prepare to face local rivals Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano on Saturday.
Real Madrid have maintained a perfect start to the season, winning all seven of their games, including the six played so far in La Liga. However, they face a stern test against local rivals looking to prove a point. Both sides played to a draw both home and away last season.
“Of course it’s a derby, it’s very emotional,” said Alonso. “We’re expecting a great atmosphere, a powerful one. We hope it will make us play with energy and concentration.
“We have to be consistent in our performance. The more we train ourselves to be active, the more games we’ll win. If we win a lot of games, we can get a lot of points, but we can’t relax, because then you can make a mistake.
“We have to see how flexible we can be, being unpredictable with the ball, not having just one form of attacking. But without the ball, we’ve taken steps forward.”
Vinicius Junior will be returning to a stadium with a highly charged atmosphere and fans that have subjected him to taunts in the past. The Brazilian impressed in his first full game under Alonso in midweek against Levante, capping a brilliant all-round performance with a superb individual goal, and Alonso backed him to shut out the noise and play a decisive role in Saturday’s derby.
Alonso said: “We can’t ignore everything that’s happened, but we have to focus on the game, on what happens on the field.
“Vini is a fundamental player for us. [Against Levante] he played a great game. I really liked a lot of things that he did. I like to see him smiling.”
