Real Madrid looks more lively than ever and they seem to be creating more chances now since they played a draw with Al Hilal. It's a good development for them and also from their play you will be able to notice some difference, in it which shows that Alonso is trying to add something to their game and also Vinicius looks to be lively. Is it the critics that made him to improve or the Alonso's doings. Alonso is definitely in the right direction but till the season kicks off we can't conclude if he will succeed here or not.
Match 3 looked much better for Madrid as they were able to control the game better, in addition there were some adjustments with the cooperation and build up of attacks that made them seem much better than before especially for the counter attack schemes with direct passes that resulted in 2 goals in this match although there was a share of Salzburg players but that does not cover the fact that Madrid is improving.
They are through to the Round of 16 now and this could be a new test because of the pot they have now where in this round they will definitely face Juventus which is a new round for them to face one of the strongest opponents especially we can see how Juventus play (although today they lost to City) but they are quite good so far. It's going to be interesting and I'm getting excited to watch this competition.
I agree with you that the match against Salzburg was the best so far for Real Madrid in this championship.
It was seen that the players as if gained confidence in their actions and finally Vinicius scored and even left the ball for Valverde, who scored a goal, and before Vinicius would still hit the goal regardless of whether it was convenient to hit or not.
Apparently Alonso was able to convey to Vinicius that it is necessary not to be greedy in soccer, and give passes to teammates.
Real Madrid is very popular in the USA and apparently Juventus will not be a serious problem for Real, so with a probability of 80% Real should beat Juventus.
It is also good that at least one Arab club got out of the group, because a lot of fans of these clubs came to the USA and the stadiums are well filled when Al hilal plays. However, Al hilal will play with City next round and it will probably be their last game at this championship.
Real Madrid looked better in this match, and they seemed to be playing as a solid team. I know this is not their best performance yet, but I think they have made better progress. Xabi Alonso seems to be experimenting and this time he is trying to play with three man defense, and I think the new strategy seems to be working pretty well.
Real Madrid will face Juventus in the round of 16, and it looks like Juventus will be a tough opponent compared to their previous opponents, so it will be interesting to see whether Xabi Alonso will continue to play with 3 defenders or perhaps he will experiment again using a different strategy.
Real Madrid have been maintaining their old style of
play, nothing much have changed except for the coming Trent Alexander Arnold who we are still observing to see his how his contribution will look like. Although xabi Alonso is a clever coach, so he understands the need to solidify the Madrid defence which has been their weakest link, there midfield and attack is good but we cannot say the same for the defence line.
I saw juventus play against Manchester City, they weren't that solid, although at first they tried show some resistance during the first half, but completely lost it during the second half. With the way they played Manchester city I'm not sure if juventus can stand Madrid.