Xabi's Madrid is now playing rock & roll: a thrashing in the round of 16

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Xabi Alonso 's Madrid is finally here. It's taken three games and two weeks to arrive, and there's still a lot of work ahead of him, but the hallmarks are already underlined in bright green marker, like good students. A five-man defensive line, dividing the midfield, pressing in the opposition's box, close lines, tight spaces, and rock & roll. There's a coach there.

A brilliant victory against a Salzburg side that showed off its wings in Austria. Well, it's been two years since they've been without them, but Red Bull should worry about that. They head home eliminated, and Madrid advances to the round of 16 as group winners and makes a run at the Waze with two easy saves. The first, against Juventus. The second, if it happens, against Borussia Dortmund or Rayados. And there will be time to think about a hypothetical semifinal.

In a packed Lincoln Financial Center , with 95% of Real Madrid fans, and with the rain as a welcome spectator (finally a match at a normal temperature of 21 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) and on a decent pitch), Real Madrid swept aside Salzburg thanks to a remarkable first half, where play came first, chances followed, and finally goals. The ABCs of football.

Xabi played with his famous five-man back line that had served him so well at Leverkusen, with Rudiger and Huijsen as center-backs and Tchouaméni as sweeper. The wings were for Alexandeer-Arnold and Fran García, with Valverde, Guler, and Bellingham occupying the center of midfield, and Gonzalo and Vini as the attacking pairing.

The youngster, making his third consecutive start , once again showed he has the talent, desire, and enthusiasm to remain in the first team. He presses, runs, links up, offloads, fights, creates, and shoots. He's very good, even when he's not in the scoring picture.

Exactly what Vinicius did. He missed a clear one-on-one in the 19th minute. Zawieschitzky stepped up, and the Brazilian didn't aim for the corner. He would do so in the 40th minute. A pass into space from Bellingham , a drag from Gonzalo, a run into space from the number 7, a cut and a left-footed shot that hit the post. 0-1.

Madrid took the lead when they were showing signs of fatigue, which Salzburg had taken advantage of to see that Courtois was wearing a different shade of green than the pitch. Nene shot from the byline, and another fell into Thibaut 's hands. Both times after a loss in the play. Here, Arda, converted into the base of the play, has to be precise.

Just before the Mauritanian referee, who was very limited in his skill, sent the players to halftime, Madrid doubled their lead thanks to that trademark Xabi has already demonstrated. Pressing in the opposition half, Huijsen steals the ball, Bellingham creates, Vinicius sets up with a little indoor soccer trick, and Valverde finishes it into the net. 2-0.

With the game practically over, Madrid somewhat tired and Salzburg desperate, knowing they needed two goals to get into the tie, the script of the second half moved away from those first 45 minutes that were more than interesting for Madrid.

Daghim forced Courtois to perform his usual miracle. He had a tough hand down in the 50th minute. Nene also made the Belgian work, but most of his chances didn't find a finisher, and if they did, a Real Madrid player would appear to take the work out of Thibaut's hands.

Madrid had a chance to score a third on a pair of shots from Valverde, but they failed to adjust their sights. They also had two counterattacks that Rodrygo , once again a substitute, couldn't finish. It had to be Gonzalo, whom Xabi rewarded with ninety minutes this time, who closed the scoring in the 87th minute. A one-on-one against Zawieschitzky was resolved with a Raúl-made save. 3-0, Madrid through to the round of 16 and Juventus next Tuesday in Miami.