Real Madrid lost to PSG in gut-wrenching fashion.
It was what we got used to as fans under Carlo Ancelotti, and now, this sort of performance has creeped into the Xabi Alonso era.
Let me get one thing straight: this result is not on him. It is on anyone but him. He did everything right. Alonso put out the right lineup. The players were at fault. Their failure to adapt to what Alonso wanted to do was a big reason behind the loss.
Let's dive deep into it. Who really was at fault? Was it Thibaut Courtois, who gave his all on the pitch, saving countless more shots than he let in? Or, was it Kylian Mbappe, who is getting wildly criticised even though he was the only attacking threat the team had?
No. It was some individual players that I don't like pointing out, but I feel like I have to. One of them was Raul Asencio.
Asencio had a brilliant La Liga and Champions League campaign, individually speaking, for Real Madrid. He was by far their best defender, both against the small teams as well as on the big stage.
But, since the start of the Club World Cup, he has been a shell of himself. Actually, I think a shell of Asencio would perform better than what he is right now. It is tough to pinpoint the actual reason for it. It could well be the heat, it could be so much more than that, though.
The first goal that Real Madrid conceded was all because of Asencio's inability to clear the ball. It was not like he did not have time. He had so much of it, and I think he thought he had even more of it.
It could just be that Asencio hit factory settings on his development. Before he joined Real Madrid's first team, he was one of the worst players for a struggling Castilla side. He was making rash decisions, rash tackles and trying his best to get into the opponents' heads without much to go his way.
This version of Asencio that we are seeing at the Club World Cup is much closer to that than anything we saw earlier this season. I mean, what happened? Asencio was huge for Real Madrid, even in the losses.
Real Madrid were better off having him on the pitch, but now, it seems like every time he starts, a calamity is waiting to happen.
He has lost his place in the starting XI, and if he keeps getting worse, he will lose his place in the team, as well.