Real Madrid’s boss is focusing solely on the task at hand.
Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso refused to get sucked into a war of words with Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal ahead of Sunday’s Clasico.
Alonso will take charge of his first Clasico as coach at the Santiago Bernabéu, with Madrid having the chance to go five points clear at the top of LaLiga.
Much of the build-up for the game has been dominated by comments made by Yamal on a social media stream, on which he claimed that Madrid “steal” and “complain”.
Asked about those remarks in his pre-match press conference, Alonso chose to keep his focus on matters on the pitch.
“I’m not going to get into that,” Alonso said. “There are lots of statements coming out of Barcelona and we can’t assess them all.
“The important thing is the pitch and what happens on it, where we’ve come from, what lies ahead and how we play the game. That’s what matters most and what we’ve been working on.
“The most important thing is us: our quality and our strength. Then there are the small game plans about what we want, with and without the ball. We must stick together, control moments of pressure and the distances. That’s what we’re focusing on to be more consistent in our performance.”
Madrid’s biggest fixture to this point was the derby with Atletico Madrid last month, which saw Los Blancos hammered 5-2.
They have claimed four straight wins while conceding just one goal since.
Asked if that game was a turning point for his team, Alonso said: “A few weeks have passed since the derby and we’ve been correcting things and improving.
“I think we’re in good spirits, playing well and competing well. It’s a good moment. I like to evaluate the process and in the 12 matches we’ve played, there’s been improvement.
“There is room for improvement, but it’s November and no trophies have been won yet. There is still a long way to go in the season, but right now we are only thinking about the Clasico.”
