{"id":19007,"date":"2026-01-01T19:11:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T19:11:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/01\/another-big-question-for-xabi-alonso-how-to-compensate-for-mbappes-29-goals\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T19:11:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T19:11:33","slug":"another-big-question-for-xabi-alonso-how-to-compensate-for-mbappes-29-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/01\/another-big-question-for-xabi-alonso-how-to-compensate-for-mbappes-29-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"Another big question for Xabi Alonso: how to compensate for Mbapp\u00e9&#8217;s 29 goals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"ue-c-article__summary\">\n<figure class=\"ue-c-article__media ue-c-article__media--video  video-dailymotion\"><figcaption class=\"ue-c-article__media-caption\" itemprop=\"description\">\n<p><span class=\"ue-c-article__media-description\">Vini Junior and Real Madrid reveal their New Year&#8217;s resolutions<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"ue-c-article--first-letter-highlighted\"><span class=\"capital-letter\">K<\/span>Due to Ilian Mbapp\u00e9&#8217;s injury, Xabi Alonso will have to rethink his attack ahead of Sunday&#8217;s game against Betis, and perhaps also ahead of the Supercopa de Espana. It&#8217;s not just an absence. Mbappe has scored 29 goals in 24 games this season, accounting for over 50% of the team&#8217;s goals, and this alone explains the impact of his absence. The coach loses a player who has been on offense since his arrival.<\/p>\n<p>Without their attacking references, Xavi has several options. The most natural option would be to play Rodrigo Goes as a centre-forward. It&#8217;s a position he knows and one that can provide mobility and link-up play. Moreover, Rodrigo ended the year on a good note, leaving with positive feelings both in terms of play and confidence after breaking his nine-month hunger for goals. This variation allows Franco Mastantuono to be included in the starting eleven. This is a creative option between the lines that maintains the team&#8217;s offensive weight and gives the team more aggressiveness in pressing.<span\/><span class=\"xai-icon\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Another possibility is to move Valverde to the right flank to strengthen the midfield. This solution gives the team more muscle and balance, but reduces the pure attacking presence in the final meters. In this scenario, Rodrygo will once again assume the role of the main player up front and will have even greater responsibility for finishing.<span\/><span class=\"xai-icon\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"ue-c-article__subheadline\">Club World Cup route: Gonzalo<\/h2>\n<p>Xavi has not ruled out the possibility of relying on Gonzalo and replicating the method he used at the Club World Cup. Paradoxically, it would be the simplest and at the same time the most revolutionary option. It&#8217;s a simple fixed-9 structure, but it&#8217;s revolutionary as coaches are far less interventionist with their youth players and are opting for more conservative solutions these days.<span\/><span class=\"xai-icon\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Another option is for Vinicius and Rodrygo to play in a 4-4-2 partnership up front, without a clear centre-forward. This is a more dynamic approach, designed to attack space and increase speed in transition, but with less presence in the opponent&#8217;s box.<span\/><span class=\"xai-icon\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The range of options will be determined by the team&#8217;s situation at the beginning of the year. Endrick is no longer a substitute as he has moved on loan to Olympique Lyonnais, while Brahim Dias remains focused on the African Cup of Nations with Morocco.<span\/><span class=\"xai-icon\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"ue-c-article__subheadline\">Vinny drought<\/h2>\n<p>The situation is further complicated by the fact that Vinicius&#8217; current form is far from his best goalscoring form. The Brazilian failed to find the back of the net in 14 games, 10 of which were in La Liga and four in the Champions League. His last goal came against Villarreal on October 4th (he scored twice), but it was too long of a drought for a player who was supposed to be making a difference. For Madrid, this crisis needs to end as soon as possible, especially now that they don&#8217;t have Mbapp\u00e9 to support their attack.<span class=\"xai-icon\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Vinicius&#8217; numbers this season reflect this lack of precision: 5 goals in 24 competitive games, and no goals in 6 Champions League games, for example. Lacking their main scorer and with their second main attacking line experiencing a clear drought, the question of Xabi Alonso at the start of 2026 is more than a worry.<span class=\"xai-icon\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marca.com\/en\/football\/real-madrid\/2026\/01\/01\/69569f1aca4741bc248b45c0.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vini Junior and Real Madrid reveal their New Year&#8217;s resolutions KDue to Ilian Mbapp\u00e9&#8217;s injury, Xabi Alonso will have to rethink his attack ahead of Sunday&#8217;s game against Betis, and perhaps also ahead of the Supercopa de Espana. It&#8217;s not just an absence. Mbappe has scored 29 goals in 24 games this season, accounting for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19008,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19007","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-latest"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Another big question for Xabi Alonso: how to compensate for Mbapp\u00e9&#039;s 29 goals - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/01\/another-big-question-for-xabi-alonso-how-to-compensate-for-mbappes-29-goals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Another big question for Xabi Alonso: how to compensate for Mbapp\u00e9&#039;s 29 goals - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Vini Junior and Real Madrid reveal their New Year&#8217;s resolutions KDue to Ilian Mbapp\u00e9&#8217;s injury, Xabi Alonso will have to rethink his attack ahead of Sunday&#8217;s game against Betis, and perhaps also ahead of the Supercopa de Espana. 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