Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid faced off this Wednesday at New York’s MetLife Stadium in the semi-finals of the 2025 Club World Cup. The match ended in a 4-0 Parisian victory (video highlights PSG/Real Madrid). After the match, Madrid coach Xabi Alonso spoke at a press conference.
Alonso “Our level wasn’t good enough.”
“It’s a complicated situation after 10 minutes and those two goals, we didn’t recover our sensations on the pitch and then it was 3-0 at half-time. I’m self-critical of my decisions and shortcomings, but we’re all in this boat together. This semi-final shouldn’t mark us for next season.
This is a new stage. Our level wasn’t good enough today (Wednesday), but we now have the keys to progress to a higher level. This World Cup has given us a number of positive points, and we’re leaving stronger as a team. I’m convinced that this experience will serve us well for next season.
Alonso “This will shed light on the future.”
Paris unbeatable?
PSG is a project that’s been around for a long time, whereas we’re just starting out, so we’re going to improve. They’re a very competent opponent who’ve made others suffer, they’re a very good side. We suffered, as did others. This will give us a clearer picture for the future, and enable us to compete at a much better level than we can today”, comments relayed by L’Equipe.
It’s hard for the Madrid coach to make any other assessment, given that his team was largely outplayed. There is a context to take into account, with PSG a collective machine that has “crushed” many other teams. Also, Xabi Alonso has just arrived in Madrid and hasn’t been able to rebuild everything. And he has a huge task ahead of him.
Of course, that doesn’t excuse everything. But it was difficult to compete, given the differences between the two teams. Paris is still impressing, with a team that has been close to perfection lately. What’s striking is that we used to hear this kind of talk, especially in Ligue 1. This season, this kind of impotence has been found at many of the big clubs: Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atlético Madrid and now Real Madrid. The latter must use this encounter to grow, with the flaws that have been highlighted.
