Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso appeared at a press conference after the 1-0 loss against Liverpool in the fourth round of the Champions League at Anfield.

The coach said: "Did you feel that Liverpool physically outperformed you? No, we didn't feel that. The match was demanding, with a fast pace. We may have lacked some attacking threat in the final third of the pitch. The second half was full of details, and we started to make some mistakes; Thibaut Courtois was solid; that goal gave them the advantage, and then we struggled a bit. There is nothing we can criticize the team for. We can recover these points."

He added about Arnold: "It wasn't a strong game. This is usual at Anfield against two big teams. He tried to show his skills and threat on the right wing."

Regarding the choice of the same lineup as the Clasico: "These are decisions we make, and players are in good shape. It's November. We're going through a tough period. They performed well today. Today, there were things we did well and others that need improvement."

He emphasized: "I don't think we're going through ups and downs; the Metropolitano match wasn't good, but we have to be consistent in our performance, approach, and standards; we don't want to go through ups and downs because that creates instability. Today, we suffered a defeat in a close and competitive match, and we have to learn from that."

He continued: "We couldn't break through their last line of defense to create clear chances inside the penalty area. Fede was struggling with an injury, which is why we substituted him. With Trent and Rodrygo, we wanted to create threats. We looked for different attacking formations. Today, we lacked a bit overall, and some details didn't go our way."

About Courtois's brilliance that saved the team from a larger defeat: "For me, what worries me most is that we need to learn. In those moments when they press us, we have to keep our composure and avoid mistakes and corners. It was a heated match."

He followed up on midfielders passing the ball back: "We wanted to bring them together and find an available player; Gravenberch was very close to Bellingham. Our performance improved in the first half, but we lacked some threat inside the penalty area."

Regarding whether the right-wing position meets his requirements: "We have players who can play in different positions: Camavinga, Güler, Valverde... It depends on the match and the player's performance. We have options, and we can play with a different type of player than the traditional winger. These are the options available to us in the team, and we have to evaluate them match by match."

About receiving many set-pieces in the second half, he concluded: "It was the period when we conceded the most chances, and we gave them those opportunities. I think it could have been avoided on our part. They pushed us too far up the pitch; I wanted to press them a bit higher up the pitch. They put us under a lot of pressure because we made a lot of mistakes."