Álvaro Arbeloa backs “players’ nature” after Villarreal win

Real Madrid eased past Villarreal with a 2-0 victory on Saturday, climbing to the top of LaLiga ahead of Barcelona’s game the following day.

Kylian Mbappé scored both goals for Madrid, taking his league tally for the season to 20 goals. It was a performance that helps to calm tensions after the shock departure of Xabi Alonso and the embarrassing loss to second-division Albacete.

Speaking after Saturday’s game new head coach Álvaro Arbeloa was full of praise for his team, citing their collective effort against a strong Villarreal team.

“The players’ commitment is undeniable. The effort they put in on a pitch like this, against a fantastic team with a fantastic coach. We knew it was one of the toughest away games in the entire league.”

“We need to keep working. We put on a very serious, very solid performance. But we still have room for improvement,” Arbeloa added.

Arbeloa: I can’t go against the players’ nature

In the aftermath of Alonso’s departure, much was made of the style of play that he had tried to impose on the Madrid players. In previous seasons, former head coach Carlo Ancelotti had allowed his players greater freedom in their play and found great success.

Arbeloa appears to be following Ancelotti’s playbook, giving his elite talents the chance to shine with moments of individual attacking brilliance.

Arbeloa explained: “Obviously, I can’t go against the players’ nature. On the contrary, I have to try to take advantage of it. We have many players who are very dominant in open space. Very fast footballers who also tend to finish well and we have to capitalize on that.”

Whatever the future holds for Madrid and Arbeloa, at this moment in time the team looks well placed to seriously challenge for both LaLiga and the Champions League once again.

Madrid are currently third in the UCL league phase standings ahead of Wednesday’s game against Benfica. A point at the Estádio da Luz would almost certainly see them qualify automatically for the round-of-16.

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