On Saturday, Real Madrid return to action in La Liga after a two-week hiatus due to the international break.
The Merengues, under the tutelage of new manager Xabi Alonso, will face the toughest challenge of the new season so far as they take on Real Sociedad away at the Reale Arena.
It will be a special fixture for the Spanish tactician, given his history with the Basque club, and he will hope to return with three points from the trip.
Ahead of the game on Sunday, one of Real Sociedad’s captains and key players, Igor Zubeldia, sat down for an interview with AS, during which he discussed the impact that Alonso has made at Real Madrid in a short time.
"Let them not win this match, and then let them win all the others, but he is doing a great job, both before at Leverkusen and now," Zubeldia said.
Highlighting what changes Alonso has made in terms of Real Madrid’s gameplay, the Real Sociedad captain noted:
"I think he has given Real Madrid a breath of fresh air, and now they are much more intense in their pressing after losing possession. That’s one of the strengths that has changed compared to last season."
"We’ll have to be very focused because their pressing will also suffocate us, and we have to be alert to everything."
Zubeldia then pointed out Kylian Mbappe as a major threat for the Basque club when they take on Real Madrid tomorrow, saying:
"I already played against Kylian in the Champions League when we faced PSG, and his speed, his dribbling… it’s very difficult to guess what he’s going to do and to anticipate because of his strength and speed, but if we’re focused, I think we can deal with them."
When asked if he and his team had spotted any weaknesses in Real Madrid’s game that they plan on exploiting, the Real Sociedad star replied:
"All teams have weaknesses. When you watch matches and videos, you try to find that vulnerability where you can hurt them. We’ve seen videos that show that if you press them and win the second balls, you can hurt them."
But, Zubeldia added how it is imperative to be always switched on and extra alert when facing Real Madrid, as he said:
"If you’re normally at 100%, against this team you have to be at 200%, because if you let your guard down for a second, they’re off, they’re in your area, and you don’t know where they came from."
"With the speed they have, you have to be at 200% because otherwise they’ll hurt you badly."
Further highlighting the challenges of facing Real Madrid, he added: "We always know what Madrid are capable of. Even when they’re not playing well, they hurt you, and now that they’re playing well, we’ll have to be even more careful."
"We know the players Real Madrid have, and we’re looking forward to playing at Anoeta again with our fans. I’m sure we’ll play a good game."