Vinicius Junior continues to fuel the pressure covering Real Madrid when he posted an implied message on social media. Despite just beating Sevilla 2-0 at home, thereby extending the winning streak to three, the pressure on coach Xabi Alonso has not eased, in the context of the team's not really convincing performance.
Real Madrid have lost a 5-point lead over Barcelona in the race for the La Liga title. Internal tensions continue to be a major obstacle for Alonso, a former Bayer Leverkusen coach who was appointed in June. One of the most controversial topics during his reign was his relationship with attacking stars, especially Vinicius.
In the El Clasico match at the beginning of the season, the 25-year-old player clearly expressed his frustration when he was taken off the field, going straight into the tunnel in an angry reaction. Vinicius later publicly apologized to his teammates, club and president Florentino Perez, but it is worth noting that he did not mention Alonso in his statement.
The Brazilian, who has not scored since the start of October, was shouted by Real Madrid fans when he left the pitch in the match against Sevilla. Vinicius, in his role as captain, quickly responded on social media when posting two photos from the match with the caption "...", and changed the representative photo to the image wearing the Brazilian national team jersey.
When asked about the audience's reaction after the match, Alonso shared: "Fans have the right to express their opinions. However, it was a complicated match. I appreciate the efforts of the whole team and with the upcoming break, we will take advantage to recover, thereby starting the next phase of the season with a more enthusiastic spirit".
Although Sevilla had only 10 men left in the second half, they still created many difficulties for Real Madrid. Jude Bellingham's header and Kylian Mbappe's late penalty helped Alonso's team win 2-0. After this match, Real Madrid will not play any more matches in the next two weeks.
January is considered a key period for Real Madrid, when they faced Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup semi-finals in Saudi Arabia. If they qualify for the final, Real Madrid will face Barcelona or Athletic Bilbao. In addition, the Spanish Royal team also has a chance to qualify directly for the UEFA Champions League.
Alonso's future at Real Madrid continues to be a topic of interest. Can the Spaniard complete the season amid rising pressure?
"We will take time to analyze and reflect. This was a complicated situation. We know we can do better and want to start the new year more positively.
The top priority is always victory. There are things that have not gone as expected. What we have achieved and those victories need to go hand in hand with improvement" - the Spanish captain shared.
