Real Madrid no better under Álvaro Arbeloa than Xabi Alonso
Results, performances and statistics have failed to improve since the coaching change, with early exits and growing frustration at the Bernabéu.
It has not even been two months since the coaching change at Real Madrid, yet things have not improved. In many ways, they have gotten worse.
When Xabi Alonso left, the team was four points behind Barcelona in LaLiga, still alive in the Copa del Rey, and well positioned in the Champions League’s top eight.
Less than two months later, the gap with its biggest rival in the title race remains the same, Madrid crashed out of the Copa at the first hurdle, and the team had to navigate the Champions League playoffs after slipping out of the top eight on the final matchday. Worst of all, the performances have not convinced fans or silenced the whistles at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Stats favor Xabi Alonso
The numbers, at least for now, still lean in Xabi’s favor. It has taken only 12 games under Álvaro Arbeloa for Madrid to suffer a fourth defeat in the new era. Under Xabi, Los Blancos won 13 of their first 14 games of the season before hitting a downturn.
That fourth defeat did not arrive until match No. 22, against Manchester City, although by then the team had already collected three draws. With Xabi this season, Madrid won 71 percent of its games, 20 victories in total, drew 11 percent, and lost 18 percent. Under Arbeloa, the team has won two thirds of its matches, 67 percent, and lost the remaining third, 33 percent. There have been no draws so far.
Interestingly, Xabi’s final 12 games produced numbers very similar to Arbeloa’s current run: seven wins, two draws, and three losses. In points terms, that is only one fewer than Arbeloa has collected.
Arbeloa vs. Alonso in numbers
Madrid’s scoring rate has largely held steady. The team averaged 2.18 goals per game under Xabi and is now scoring 2.17 with Arbeloa. The match against Getafe was the first time the team failed to score under the new coach.
Defensively, though, the numbers have dipped slightly. Madrid conceded an average of 1.07 goals per game earlier in the season, compared with 1.17 now. The clean sheet rate has also dropped, from 36 percent under Xabi to 33 percent with Arbeloa.
| Xabi Alonso | Arbeloa | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | 28 | 12 | ||
| Wins | 20 | 71% | 8 | 67% |
| Ties | 3 | 11% | 0 | - |
| Defeats | 5 | 18% | 4 | 33% |
| Goals scored | 61 | 2.18 | 26 | 2.17 |
| Goals conceded | 30 | 1.07 | 14 | 1.17 |
| Clean sheets | 10 | 36% | 4 | 33% |
Early promise fading
Arbeloa’s Madrid had looked reliable in front of goal at first. In the opening eight games, the team scored at least twice in every match. But since then, production has slowed. Madrid scored once in Lisbon, once in Pamplona, two against Benfica at the Bernabéu, and none against Getafe.
At the same time, the defense has not managed to record back-to-back clean sheets. After some early signs of improvement, the team has begun to fade again. Following the collapse in Albacete, Madrid opened the scoring in each of the next eight matches. In the last three games, however, it has been the opponent that struck first, and Madrid only managed to come back against Benfica.
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