Xabi Alonso is adamant Kylian Mbappe is Real Madrid's main penalty taker after explaining his exasperated reaction to Vinicius Jr's missed spot-kick in the 4-0 rout of Valencia.
Los Blancos put Los Che to the sword at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Mbappe scoring from the spot after 19 minutes and doubling his own personal tally just after the half-hour mark.
However, despite being on a hat-trick, Mbappe opted to allow Vinicius to have a go from 12 yards when Madrid were awarded a second penalty when Thierry Correia clattered into Alvaro Carreras.
Vinicius saw his effort saved by Julen Agirrezabala, with Madrid head coach Alonso visibly frustrated on the touchline.
Jude Bellingham made it 3-0 before half-time and Carreras added a fourth, but Alonso's reaction to Vinicius' missed penalty was a discussion point after the game and he made a point of emphasising that Mbappe is his main taker.
"It was because he missed the penalty. It could have been 3-0 before half-time, but then Jude scored. It was the frustration of not being able to go up 3-0, that's all," Alonso explained.
"We assign the penalty takers, and Kylian is the first one. Then they make decisions. I like it when they score penalties because it's a good opportunity.
"Kylian scored the first one, and I would have liked him to score the second one too. It's not a big deal. Kylian is still the first one."
Vinicius' miss followed on from controversy in Madrid's Clasico victory over Barcelona, in which the Brazil ace stormed down the tunnel when replaced in the 72nd minute.
He later apologised publicly and Alonso declared the matter "settled". When asked about Vinicius' performance against Valencia, he replied: "He played a very good game."
Alonso went into more depth when praising Mbappe's performance, though.
The France ace has scored in eight straight LaLiga games (10 goals in total), his best streak in the competition, and has a league-high 13 goals.
"Time will tell how many goals he scores. He has that knack for finding the net and being in the right place," Alonso said.
"He's going to score a lot of goals. I don't know how many, but I have a feeling he's going to score a lot this season."
azmotsamar
52
Pedri is currently in playing his 6th LaLiga season. Bellingham is playing in his 3rd season. Bellingham has more Goals than Pedri Belligham has more assists than Pedri Belligham has more individual awards Belligham has more passes completed. Belligham has more trophies. There’s not a single category that Pedri can chat with Jude. But Barca fans will tell you Pedri is better because he spins with the ball like Fowl 😂
Liubcinstz
10
I think Alonso should go and do some Men Management Classes under former Coach Carlos Alsoletti. Alonso should be careful not to sore seeds of disunity amongst his players. He should be careful how he almost exclusively praises of Mbappe. Soccer is a collective sport played by an entire team. Furthermore, Real Madrid many trophies and titles before Mbappe was born and before he even came to the team. Vini, Bellingham, Ridygro, and the entire team won many trophies, scored many goals, penalties, and titles seasons before Mbappe. Those players are really keeping the unity among them. No coach should undermine that. Anybody can miss penalty. No big deal about.