Real Madrid; an exciting evolution

The famous all-white strip is still the same and few of the faces have changed, yet Real Madrid are already a different team under Xabi Alonso.

It's only four games into the reign of the new coach and he's forming a side in his own style by immediately imposing himself on the club.

Carlo Ancelotti was always going to be a tough act to follow. The Italian was the master of improvising tactics with an ageing and restricted squad of players. He was happy to play conservative football, conserving energy for his veteran players.

'Xabi-ball' is quite a revolution. He's changed the shape of the team, like the one he successfully adopted at Bayer Leverkusen. Some would say it's a back-five. But the way he's approaching the game, it's a back-three as he utilises the attacking talents of recruit Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Unlike Ruben Amorim who tried to impose his system at Manchester United, this is working.

Real Madrid made it to the Club World Cup semi-finals by dominating the match-up with Juventus. They governed the pace of the game, something that rarely happened when Ancelotti faced top-level teams.

There is a new energy, which is understandable with the signings of Alexander-Arnold and teenager Dean Huijsen. The football flows; the machine has been oiled. Jude Bellingham is more effective, Vinícius Júnior is flourishing. It's a different shape; it's a different look.

So far, they have achieved without Kylian Mbappé. The superstar Frenchman hasn't been fit to start due to illness and injury.

In his absence, a star has been born. Whereas Ancelotti was reticent to utilise youth players, Alonso has launched Gonzalo García into the limelight.

He was on the fringes at the end of the season, but very much centre-stage in America. The 21-year-old has come of age with three goals and an assist. It's too early to say he's a challenger to Mbappé, but he's another option like Joselu was for Karim Benzema last season.

It is still very much a work in progress. Real Madrid fans won't want comparisons to Barcelona, but there are shades of the high-pressing game of their great rivals. Antonio Rüdiger, the team's most consistent player and rock last season, looks, in my opinion, a little lost. He was wandering around the field like a puppet cut from his strings against Juventus.

It could be the plan of Alonso to free up Rüdiger to go on an adventure, but he looked like his sat-nav was on the blink. There is room to tighten things up.

It is not quite a revolution, but an exciting evolution. The president has made it abundantly clear that he wants Real Madrid to create history by winning the inaugural competition. There is no room for experimentation: it can be a new look - but it needs to be winning football. So far, so very good.