Madrid ready for 'new age' after 'painful' PSG rout

Real Madrid volition commencement adjacent play from scratch, manager Xabi Alonso said connected Wednesday, aft his tactical displacement backfired successful a 4-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain successful the Club World Cup semifinal.

Missing suspended defender Dean Huijsen and injured Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alonso, who took the reins lone weeks ago, reverted to a four-man defence from the back-five that had served them truthful good earlier successful the tournament.

The tactical power saw tourney sensation Gonzalo García commencement alongside prima guardant Kylian Mbappé, who was yet backmost to afloat spot aft missing overmuch of the contention owed to illness, but it failed to wage dividends.

Paris Saint-Germain rapidly took vantage of Real's antiaircraft weakness, netting 2 goals successful the archetypal 9 minutes, arsenic the LaLiga broadside appeared utterly outclassed.

"We were 2 goals down and we couldn't find our footing," Alonso said. "It was a achy defeat, we indispensable admit that we were not up to modular today."

Madrid made nary meaningful changes astatine the break, with Alonso telling reporters helium believed they had immoderate scoring chances earlier helium made a flurry of substitutions midway done the 2nd half.

"We had immoderate shortcomings astatine immoderate points and sometimes it's bully to spot our mistakes and you tin gully lessons for the future," helium said.

Though the bitter sensation of decision would linger, Alonso assured fans that amended things were to travel adjacent play and helium did not regularisation retired the anticipation of further caller signings.

"We commencement a caller property aft a break, with caller minds," helium said. "We privation to physique a squad that plays arsenic a unit, with everyone playing unneurotic ... we were 1 lucifer distant and it's achy and let's spot what happens now."