Valdano: Alonso is a reliable coach, it's the players who don't run on pitch

Real Madrid suffered a 0-2 home defeat to Celta Vigo in La Liga's 15th round. Earlier, Real Madrid legend Valdano addressed the club's recent form during an interview.

"I consider Xabi Alonso a dependable manager. It's the players who aren't putting in the effort. I'm astonished they only start running when the match becomes challenging. The team's aggression must be ignited, and that falls on the players. The coach's role is to ensure order and maintain the players' fighting spirit – these are fundamental duties. What astonished me was that after such an impressive display against Athletic Bilbao, the side showed no aggression whatsoever in this match and took an age to get into the game."

"It wasn't until we were in dire straits – trailing 0-1 and down to ten men – that the players finally showed another level of determination on the pitch, which did yield some results. Playing with ten men actually created more pressure than when we were eleven. But this was essentially a desperate, reactive measure, as their bursts of effort lacked any semblance of organisation."