Xabi Alonso praised the impact of Real Madrid‘s new signings, including debutant Franco Mastantuono, after the team beat Osasuna 1-0 in their opening game of the LaLiga season on Tuesday.
Three of Madrid’s summer recruits — Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dean Huijsen and Álvaro Carreras — started for Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu, while Mastantuono was introduced as a second-half substitute and impressed in his time on the pitch.
Kylian Mbappé scored the game’s only goal from the penalty spot after he was fouled by defender Juan Cruz, while Abel Bretones was sent off for the visitors in added time.
“[The new signings] were good, everyone has landed on their feet,” Alonso said, speaking to Real Madrid TV. “Those who played at the Club World Cup, and Franco [Mastantuono], who made his debut today, are players we’ll have here for years. Neither the shirt nor being at the Bernabéu weighed on them.”
“They did well, maybe not spectacular, but they were serious,” Alonso added in his post-match news conference. “There were no mistakes or nerves. Franco has brought a good energy.”
Mastantuono turned 18 last Thursday and trained with his new teammates for the first time on Friday, but looked assured in his Bernabéu debut.
“He looks good. I thought he could contribute,” Alonso said. “He had some good minutes, he had an impact.”
Alonso admitted that there was room for improvement after a performance which saw Madrid dominate possession but struggle to create clear-cut chances.
“There are positives, starting with the result,” Alonso said. “After two weeks of training, against a team that had a longer preseason, things were missing.
“There were good things, and other things to improve. It’s a long road.”
Madrid are looking to better their outcome in a 2024-25 season which saw them fail to land a major trophy under Alonso’s predecessor Carlo Ancelotti.
“[Alonso] wanted us to have a lot of control of the ball, and play from one side to the other so that the other team doesn’t have room to play,” Mbappé said. “There are things we can improve, we just got back from the holidays, but it’s positive.”
