I feel sorry for those who in ten to twenty years will want to go back to watch Xabi Alonso’s first match in charge of Real Madrid, only to be met with a lifeless performance of a team drained of its personality.

Every possession dragged on. Someone should tell them you can’t score extra points for holding onto possession.

It felt like the only way in which Real Madrid were going to score was from a lapse in judgement on the part of Osasuna, and that was the case with the penalty. One mistake from the defender, tripping Kylian Mbappe on the edge of the penalty area, and you lose. It was not even in an area of the pitch in which Mbappe could get off a good shot with very few to aim at in the box.

There is a difference between creating situations in which the opponent can make a massive mistake and creating chances. Real Madrid were not creating chances.

Hyper-positional play, like we saw them play today, is a great tool when you have a massive qualitative advantage, men in the box who can finish from a header, and players on the wings who can beat their man in isolation. The frustration as a viewer comes when the forwards don’t know how to utilize those moments in isolation.

I don’t feel the need to mention the formation because it felt like a non-factor. It was a horseshoe around a gaggle of Osasuna midfielders and forwards and a front line of Real Madrid forwards looking back at the ball as it is passed back and forth, back and forth, then they take a hopeless shot from 20 yards out. Start over and repeat.

Before the match, Xabi Alonso, when asked about making the team more compact:

Well, it’s about making sure all the lines are aware. Of course, for the forwards, it’s important that on transitions they don’t get left isolated. Not just those two names (Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr.), but everyone who plays those positions.

At the same time, when we attack, the defensive line has to push up and the midfield line as well. We don’t want to just leave it to the forwards and see what happens. We want to function as a team, everyone engaged in what each play requires.

That will help us keep better distances both when defending and when attacking. If we’re too spread out when attacking, then getting back is usually harder and with bigger distances. So today it’s very important to be aware of this.

They did a good job of this against Osasuna, but it feels like the intention behind the idea of this is to limit the effectiveness of the opponent’s transitions.

Defend with the ball first, and work the ball into the box second. If working the ball into the box impedes their ability to maintain proper spacing to defend, they elect to not try to take the risk of actually attacking the box.

That mindset produces an unattractive style of football. You win but it feels like a loss.

It’s like if you took over management of a Michelin-starred restaurant with the best chefs in the world on staff and an unlimited budget, and then you only served salad and water.

I will never get those 90 minutes of my life back. By the 85th minute, as a neutral, I was actively rooting for Osasuna to tie the match.