Struggling? I can’t even put it that way that Xabi Alonso is struggling because he hasn’t started life at Real Madrid, at the club World Cup he didn’t got eliminated from the early stages but rather at the semi final against the best team in Europe even though I think tactically he would have done better. But there should be positives to take away from the competition. This Real Madrid team hasn’t actually change from what I saw last season just two of Alonso’s twerk of players and they worked perfectly in my opinion. There is a lot of time now for him to actually access the players anc possibly comes out with the perfect game plan he would be playing.
I understand that they just changed managers and he hasn't had time to get the team to the level he wants, but currently, they're struggling. They got to the semi final of the Club World Cup, which was impressive, but it's still the same problem they've been facing from last season; not much has changed. The attack doesn't press, the midfield cannot keep the ball when they win it if they are being pressed, the defence is shaky, the midfield is not creative and technical enough to create chances.
Last season, Madrid won games, finished second in the league. Got to the two cup finals and got to the quarter finals of the UCL, but they still had a very bad season because they couldn't win any trophies. If things don't turn around and Xabi Alonso doesn't find a way to make this team better, they might face the same fate.
When they face smaller teams or teams that the midfield and attack and very technical, physical and creative, Madrid thrives, but when they face a very good team, they struggle. To be a good team, you have to be able to win against other good teams because that's the only way to win trophies.