•Mbappe
Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso has praised French superstar Kylian Mbappe, describing him as essential to the team for much more than his prolific goals scoring.
The striker scored four goals against Olympiacos in last week’s Champions League match and has netted 23 times in 19 games across all competitions this season, reports AFP.
Mbappe has also urged Real Madrid to stay united as the Spanish giants struggle for consistency under Alonso.
“He’s been very good individually, helping the team a lot,” Alonso said at a news conference ahead of tomorrow’s La Liga clash with Athletic Bilbao.
“It’s not just about goals for Kylian, which in the end is the most important thing, but he does other hugely fundamental things like leadership, influence, helping his teammates, and that’s so important day to day.”
Madrid currently sit one point behind champions Barcelona following a third consecutive league draw on Sunday against Girona. Spanish media have speculated that Alonso’s future at the club could be in jeopardy if results do not improve.
The Basque coach admitted he has recently held discussions with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez about turning the team’s form around.
“The conversations are very positive, in a good tone, wanting to improve the results, and that’s what we’ve spoken about,” Alonso said. He added that Madrid’s inconsistency has contributed to their struggles.
“I think we’ve lacked consistency in our game, and we want to play better in the next one. We’ve lost a bit of quality in our play, we’ve lost a little bit of energy.”
