Madrid’s Backline Carousel: Alonso’s Quest to Tame a Perpetually Injured Defense

A defense in flux

Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid's coach, has faced a staggering defensive riddle this season, forced to try 12 different lineups across 18 matches because central defenders kept dropping out with injuries, leaving him to chase stability amid constant changes.

According to AS, Madrid's match in Athens featured an unprecedented defensive shape that felt like a forecast malfunction, a lineup hardly ever seen before, yet a near-constant refrain in many games since the season began.

The paper notes that the ongoing central-defender injuries prevent Alonso from fixing a reliable four-man backline to shield Courtois, to the point that the most frequent setup has seen Militao and Huesen at centre, Carreras on the left, and a rotating option on the right.

Seeking stability amid the numbers

This option appeared in the season opener against Osasuna, and in the subsequent home games against Mallorca and Marseille. But Alonso could not repeat the quartet, as Trent Alexander-Arnold picked up an early injury against Marseille, and when he returned, Militao was already on the injury list.

The other lineup, including Carvajal, Militao, Huesen, and Carreras, started against Real Sociedad and in the derby, and they shared most minutes against Marseille after a late substitution filled in for the injured Trent.

In the Clasico, Alonso leaned on a familiar back four and gave it some continuity, starting against Barcelona with Valverde, Militao, Huesen, and Carreras.

That quartet had linked up previously in a match against Villarreal and was used again against Valencia and Liverpool, making them the most frequently used defensive line in just four games.

Excluding the right side, Militao, Huesen, and Carreras started as regulars in 9 of 18 matches this season.

Together they form the only thread of continuity in a defense that has suffered more injuries than any other line.

Ten defenders have missed 53 matches (sum of absences per player, excluding suspensions), plus Courtois was out for the Athens game.

Only Asensio, Carreras, and Fran Garcia escaped significant injury, while the 13 players used across midfield and attack missed 21 matches.

All these numbers highlight the magnitude of Alonso's task in building a cohesive unit; yet the defense has been solid, conceding 17 goals in 18 games (less than a goal per game), and Courtois keeping a clean sheet in eight of them—impressive given the ongoing defensive upheaval.

Punchline 1: Alonso's defense has more plot twists than a soap opera—yet the ball still finds the back of the net less often than a calendar finds its missing days.

Punchline 2: If injuries paid salaries, Madrid would own a fortress—though sometimes the doors are locked from the inside, and the ball still has a key habit of sneaking in.