12 hours ago
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Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso has downplayed his touchline outburst as his side cruised to another comfortable win, keeping their focus on the upcoming showdown with Liverpool.
Madrid stormed to a 4-0 win over Valencia at the Santiago Bernabeu, moving seven points clear at the top of La Liga. Kylian Mbappe struck twice inside 31 minutes before unselfishly handing a penalty to Vinicius Jr, who recently apologized for his angry reaction to being substituted in El Clasico.
The Brazilian winger missed from the spot, which prompted frustration from Alonso on the sideline. Jude Bellingham later restored calm with a goal before the break, and Alvaro Carreras sealed the dominant win in the second half.
On his reaction, Alonso said: “It was because he missed the penalty, because it could have been 3-0 before half-time, but then Jude scored. It was the frustration of being able to go 3-0 up and that's it. We assign the penalty takers and Kylian is the first taker.
"Then they make decisions. I like them to take penalties because it's a good opportunity. Kylian scored the first one and I would have liked him to score the second one too. It's no big deal. Kylian is still the first taker."
Attention now shifts to Los Blancos' upcoming trip to Liverpool. The Reds ended a four-game Premier League losing streak with a 2-0 win over Aston Villa at Anfield — the same scoreline by which they defeated the Spanish giants in last season’s Champions League.
Alonso also endured a 4-0 defeat to Liverpool while managing Bayer Leverkusen, but his Madrid side remain unbeaten in this year’s competition and will travel to Merseyside aiming to hand Liverpool a seventh loss in 10 matches across all competitions.
Reports suggest Real Madrid will skip their usual pre-match training session at Anfield. Alonso confirmed the decision, explaining that the team will instead train in Madrid before flying to Merseyside.
The former Liverpool midfielder said: "It's my decision because we have to prepare for the match and we prefer to do it at our training ground, in our own space, so that we're not surrounded by 200 cameras."
Madrid endured a minor injury concern in the win over Valencia, with Arda Güler withdrawn at half-time. The attacking midfielder, who has tallied three goals and six assists this season, picked up a slight ankle problem during the game.
According to the Athletic's Guillermo Rai, Alonso chose not to take any risks with the youngster’s fitness. Given the comfortable result, he decided to rest Guler rather than push him too hard.
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