Welcome to Inside Real Madrid, our weekly series to follow throughout La Liga’s 2025-26 season.
Every week, we will bring you our latest information and analysis on the biggest talking points, cutting through the noisy world of all things Madridista with reporting you can trust.
This week, Mario Cortegana digs into the fallout after Saturday’s 2-1 victory against Real Sociedad, a result that maintained Xabi Alonso’s winning start to the new season but also brought familiar complaints back to the fore.
What’s the biggest talking point at Real Madrid right now?
The fallout from Saturday’s game in San Sebastian. It was a big win — a fourth straight victory of the season to keep them two points clear of Barcelona at the top of the table — but there was also plenty of controversy.
Madrid were not happy at all with referee Jesus Gil Manzano’s decisions, nor with Jorge Figueroa Vazquez, who was the VAR.
Since the game, Madrid have complained about a goal being disallowed for a very tight offside decision against Kylian Mbappe, something that also happened in the previous match against Osasuna. Their argument is based on mistrust regarding the choice of the frame used to judge the action.
They have also complained about the straight red card given to Dean Huijsen in the 32nd minute (1:14 in the YouTube video above). Alonso said it should have been a yellow card because “Eder Militao was close by, the ball wasn’t under (Real Sociedad forward Mikel Oyarzabal’s) control”, and the action happened “40 meters” from the goal.
Alonso made his displeasure clear during the game and received a yellow card for protesting the Huijsen sending off. As against Mallorca, the coach entered the pitch to talk to the referee after the match. Speaking at his post-match press conference, Alonso added: “After seeing the replay, I haven’t changed my mind. He (Gil Manzano) gave me his explanation and I wasn’t convinced, so we’ll leave it at that.”
However, with the team still in the stadium, Real Madrid TV, the club’s official television channel, announced the club would be escalating the situation.
It said Madrid would be “preparing a report” with “everything that has happened in these first four rounds of La Liga and what happened last season”. The report would be sent to FIFA so that it takes “good note of what is happening in Spanish football with refereeing”. The Athletic has contacted FIFA for comment.
Was Alonso happy with what he saw from his players on Saturday?
Yes, and it’s no wonder: Alonso became only the third Madrid manager this century to win their first four league matches, after Vanderlei Luxemburgo in 2005-06 and Manuel Pellegrini in 2009-10. His team achieved it playing with one player down for over an hour — and Alonso also criticised Huijsen’s action in the play that led to his red card, describing it as “avoidable”.
The scene as Dean Huijsen is sent off (Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
Sources from the coaching staff — who asked to speak anonymously as they did not have permission to comment — told The Athletic that they are happy with what they are seeing but added that a lot of work has been done since Alonso took the job. They said more time is still needed, as they believe there is considerable room for improvement.
Does the team look ready for the Champions League?
Yes, although the thigh injury Antonio Rudiger suffered on Friday, which will keep him out of action for at least two months, was a blow.
Without the German or the suspended Huijsen for Saturday’s league match against Espanyol, Alonso has to perform a delicate juggling act for Tuesday’s Champions League opener against Marseille. After suffering two serious knee injuries in less than a year, common sense suggests there might be concerns over Militao playing three matches in quick succession.
Alonso during Saturday’s win against Real Sociedad (Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
In any case, Alonso will continue to rotate much more than Carlo Ancelotti did. On Saturday, three players made their first league appearances of the season: Raul Asencio, Fran Garcia and David Alaba.
Alonso’s intention, as he has stated in recent press conferences, is for everyone to feel that they can play at any time. “We are going to need everyone,” he said in his post-match press conference in San Sebastian.
What else might we have missed last week? What should we look out for this week?
Readers may recall recent mention of Antonio Pintus in this column, and how the fitness coach wearing a suit instead of a tracksuit at games was revealing of his new role with the club.
Well, Saturday brought a new, deeper sign of that trend — the Italian, who was tasked with a new performance manager role this summer, did not travel to San Sebastian and will not be expected to do so for any away games this season.
Meanwhile, Alonso has a choice to make over who to play at centre-back. Huijsen’s suspension is for domestic games, so he will be available against Marseille on Tuesday, but there are questions over who should partner him, especially with Miliato’s fitness concerns.
Midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni filled in after Huijsen was sent off on Saturday, and Asencio is a natural centre-back but the 22-year-old has fallen out of favour following his breakthrough campaign last season.
However, it seems he is still ahead of Alaba in Alonso’s thinking, as the 33-year-old Austrian only came on for the final two minutes at Real Sociedad and is recovering from his own series of knee injuries.
(Top photo: Ander Gillenea/AFP via Getty Images)
