Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso warned that Kylian Mbappé is only “getting better” as the Spanish giants advance through the Club World Cup knockout stages.
Mbappé made his belated debut in the expanded competition against Juventus in the last 16 on Tuesday, replacing match-winner Gonzalo García for the final 22 minutes of a 1–0 victory. The Frenchman sat out the first three games of the tournament with acute gastroenteritis, going to hospital and losing a considerable amount of weight before easing his way back into action.
“Every day, he is getting better,” Alonso noted. “From now until the quarterfinal, he is going to be even better. I talk to him every day, ask him how he is feeling and I think he is going to be way better for the quarterfinals.”
During his cameo, Mbappe showed flashes of his signature sharpness, bursting behind Juve’s backline to combine with Vinícius Júnior and create a couple of presentable chances.
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He ran the show against Juventus. pic.twitter.com/A279WPEz0S
Borussia Dortmund will be the side exposed to an ever-improving Mbappé after they squeaked through their own last 16 match against Sergio Ramos’s Monterrey.
“I know Dortmund quite well and with Niko [Kovać], they finished the season much better,” Alonso, Madrid’s former Bayer Leverkusen boss, noted. “The opponents in the quarterfinals will be good and we’ll try to be ready for them.”
Looking beyond Mbappé’s impact, Alonso seemed largely content with the start of his “new era” at Real Madrid. “We have to do a lot with a little,” the Spanish boss encouragingly said. “We’ve only been together a short time and we’re competing for big things. We had to adjust things and the guys have grasped this well.
“Defensive solidity and discipline are fundamental and something we’ve tried to transmit from the start,” Alonso continued. “The lads are eager and willing and that’s essential. They’re keen to absorb what the people who have come from Germany are asking of them.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Xabi Alonso Fires Kylian Mbappe Rallying Cry After Real Madrid Return.
