Madrid need more players to be like Mbappe – Alonso
Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo have struggled in front of goal, and Xabi Alonso knows Real Madrid cannot rely solely on Kylian Mbappe.
Xabi Alonso has urged Real Madrid's other attackers to be as clinical as Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe scored twice as Madrid were made to work hard for a 3-2 victory over third-tier Talavera in the last 32 of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
The France international opened the scoring from the penalty spot before taking his tally for this season to 28 when his 20-yard effort squirmed past Jaime Gonzalez in the 88th minute.
Vinicius Junior has scored just five times in 23 appearances in all competitions this season, while Rodrygo has just two in his 20 outings.
Across 2025, Mbappe has now found the back of the net 58 times for the club, putting him one short of Cristiano Ronaldo's record for the most goals in a calendar year for Madrid.
"He was decisive with both goals. Kylian always finds a way to score," said Alonso. "The third goal was crucial, and that's why we kept him on the field.
"The numbers are what they are. Rodrygo has also played an important role. We need other players to be that clinical as well. We've created plenty of chances all season and, without a doubt, we could have scored more goals."
Madrid sit four points adrift of LaLiga leaders Barcelona and require positive results in their next two Champions League games to secure automatic qualification to the last 16.
Alonso made 10 changes to his lineup for the trip to Talavera and only avoided extra time thanks to a brilliant late stop from Andriy Lunin, but the coach was simply pleased to have secured progression.
"That's what the cup is like. It happens to us and to other teams," said Alonso.
"At 3-1, which was a key moment, we conceded and they pushed hard. Talavera came alive. We controlled the first half well, but not scoring the third goal left the game wide open.
"The objective was to qualify, and we did that, so I'm leaving satisfied and happy. But we were missing something we've talked about before; consistency and being more reliable over the full 90 minutes.
"We needed to close the game out. In these matches, anything can happen, and we have to show more maturity."
