Xabi Alonso, the Real Madrid coach, has suffered a new setback a few hours before the anticipated match against Girona this Sunday, as part of the fourteenth round of the Spanish League.
In this context, Miguel Ángel Díaz, the well-known media figure on the Spanish radio station “COPE,” announced via his account on “X”: “Raúl Asensio will not travel to Girona and will join the list of absentees from the match, which includes Dani Carvajal, Dean Huijsen, and David Alaba.”
This season, Xabi Alonso faces a real defensive dilemma, having had to experiment with 12 different defensive formations in 18 matches, due to the high number of injuries in the defensive line, which hinders his quest to achieve stability in these changing circumstances.
The Spanish newspaper “AS” mentioned that the Real Madrid match against Olympiacos in Athens witnessed an unprecedented defensive lineup, a scenario that is repeated almost every match since the beginning of the season.
The newspaper also pointed out that the successive injuries in the center-back position prevent Alonso from establishing a homogeneous defensive quartet to protect Courtois’ goal, to the point that the most frequent lineup saw Valverde participate in an unusual position on the right flank.
Clear Vision and Continuous Adjustments
Since the beginning of the season, Alonso has set his sights on a clear vision, with a preference for the duo Militão and Huijsen in the heart of defense, Carreras on the left side, with a rotation between Carvajal and Arnold on the right side.
This option was embodied in the opening match of the Spanish League against Osasuna, as well as in the following two matches at the Bernabéu against Mallorca and Marseille. However, Alonso was unable to maintain the same quartet, as Trent was injured at the beginning of the Marseille match, and when he recovered and returned to the starting lineup, Militão had joined the ranks of the injured.
“AS” also explained that the other lineup, which includes Carvajal, Militão, Huijsen, and Carreras, appeared for the first time against Real Sociedad and in the derby, and they also played together for most of the minutes of the Marseille match after the team captain replaced the injured Trent in the fifth minute.
In El Clásico, Alonso was able to rely on a familiar defensive quartet and gave them confidence and continuity, as he started the match against Barcelona with Valverde, Militão, Huijsen, and Carreras.
The Spanish coach had previously relied on this quartet in the match against Villarreal and repeated the same lineup against Valencia and Liverpool, making this quartet, despite appearing in only 4 matches, the most frequent in the defensive line.
If we exclude the right-back position, Militão, Huijsen, and Carreras have participated together in the starting lineup in 9 out of the 18 matches played by the team during the current season.
These three form the only constant element in a defensive line that has suffered more than others from injuries.
