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What next for Real Madrid after Barcelona’s La Liga and Clasico triumph?

What next for Real Madrid after Barcelona’s La Liga and Clasico triumph?

The fall may not have been deep, but the landing has been hard. A second trophy-less season for Real Madrid, the most successful La Liga and Champions League club, was confirmed in the worst way possible: a defeat at Barcelona, who, with their win, defended the Spanish title. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Los Blancos kept the title race alive by their fingernails as they crawled their way to Catalonia, knowing that doing so could result in the cruellest of heartbreaks for their fans. And so it came to pass. Down by two at half-time at Camp Nou – and it could have been a lot more –  hanging in there to limit the damage and humiliation was key, but the 2-0 defeat will have cut deeply for a club that has lifted 36 league and 15 Champions League titles. The defeat means Real will finish second this season, not an unusual circumstance in what has regularly been a two-horse race in La Liga. The manner, however, of their failure this season – including their quarterfinal exit from Europe’s top table – has left far more questions than answers in the Spanish capital after another season of discontent. How do Real solve a problem like Mbappe? The signing of Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain two seasons ago was seen as a return to the days of collecting the world’s finest talents and collectively calling them “galacticos”. Real had just completed the league and European double under the illustrious Carlo Ancelotti, the most successful manager in European history and no stranger to managing the top names, having led a list of galacticos in his previous spell as Los Blancos manager. Advertisement Last season did not go to plan, though. Mbappe’s arrival broke up the 4-3-3 formation that had served Real so well for so long, with English midfielder Jude Bellingham playing a key, advanced role, while Vinicius Junior thrived in front of and around him. Both were forced to shift position to accommodate Mbappe, who prefers to drop deep from his central position to link up play or run with the ball. It trod on the toes of the two key performers. Even Ancelotti was not immune to the famed Real chop as rumours circulated all season that his failure to gel the team would bring to an end the Italian’s Spanish love affair. Enter Xabi Alonso. Heralded as the answer to Madrid’s problems after sweeping through German football with Bayer Leverkusen, Alonso is also hailed as a midfield maestro as a player for both Madrid and the Spanish national team. Rumours were rife from the off that the players did not buy into Alonso’s system, and friction was often apparent with Mbappe, despite the forward’s refound scoring ability. His 24 goals have him two clear at the top of this season’s Spanish scoring chart. Alonso’s time was clearly up long before the end came, just after the clock ticked in the new calendar year. Alvaro Arbeloa was given the task of guiding the seemingly rudderless ship to the end of the season as interim head coach. Mbappe’s troubles were only just beginning, though. By the end of the season, a “Mbappe out” petition raised more than 33 million signatures, and the Frenchman was the latest focal point of the Madridistas’ displeasure. Reconnecting Mbappe with the fans and connecting him with his teammates’ style of play will be the number one focus for the new season. Geling three of the world’s leading talents, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham, has proved to be a tough task for successive Real Madrid managers [Marcelo Del Pozo/Reuters] Can Real resolve Vinicius Jr’s fallout with fans? Prior to the campaign waged against Mbappe, Vinicius fell foul of the home support, with boos for the forward ringing around a series of performances either side of the Champions League exit at the hands of Bayern Munich. The Brazilian went on a 19-game run without a goal for club and country between October 10 and January 11. Ironically, he broke his unwanted streak in the 3-2 Spanish Super Cup final defeat by Barcelona, Alonso’s last game in charge. The ruptures were apparent, however, and rumours abounded that the 25-year-old’s stay at the only club he has ever known could be coming to an end. Advertisement Manchester United were the first to be linked with a move for the versatile forward, but all of Europe’s elite will be on red alert should there be any indication that Real may consider Vinicius as the way to reshape the team around their most bankable asset on and off the field: Mbappe. Will Valverde and Tchouameni survive dressing-room bust-up? As the day of destiny at Barcelona approached, the last thing Real needed were more unwanted headlines, let alone from two of the brighter spots in an otherwise dark campaign. Uruguay’s Federico Valverde and France’s Aurelien Tchouameni were involved in a training-ground bust-up on Thursday, which left the former needing a trip to hospital for a head injury, ruling the midfielder out of the coming weeks. Real swiftly fined both players on Friday, but Tchouameni was still named in the starting lineup at Barcelona. Should Real decide that one or both were required to leave to avoid a potential toxic fallout in the dressing room, then, much like in the case of Vinicius, the phone lines of Europe’s top clubs will be working overtime to seal one or the other. Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho, right, is greeted by Pepe, second right, and Cristiano Ronaldo, third right, in 2012, as they celebrate their 32nd La Liga title [Paul Hanna/Reuters] Is Jose Mourinho’s return the answer for Real? Cometh the hour, cometh the man? Given the extent of the discontent across the club, the job of replacing Alonso on a full-time basis will require something not far short of a miracle. Mourinho was not a popular choice in his time in the Real dugout, given his pragmatic tactics, seen

Somalis rally against government-ordered evictions in Mogadishu

Somalis rally against government-ordered evictions in Mogadishu

NewsFeed Demonstrators rallied across the Somali capital in support of families displaced by a wave of government-led home demolitions. Opposition figures, who organised the protests, say security forces shot and killed one person while trying to disperse the crowds. Published On 11 May 202611 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)

Gaza documentary dropped by the BBC wins BAFTA

Gaza documentary dropped by the BBC wins BAFTA

NewsFeed A documentary exposing Israel’s attacks on Gaza’s hospitals and the killing of 1,700 Palestinian medics won Best Current Affairs at the BAFTAs. During the acceptance speech, filmmakers criticised the BBC for initially funding the film but dropping it, accusing the broadcaster of censorship. Published On 11 May 202611 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)