Real Madrid will start next season from scratch, manager Xabi Alonso said on Wednesday, after his tactical shift backfired in a 4-0 defeat to Paris St Germain in the Club World Cup semifinal.
Missing suspended defender Dean Huijsen and injured Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alonso, who took the reins only weeks ago, reverted to a four-man defence from the back-five that had served them so well earlier in the tournament.
The tactical switch saw tournament sensation Gonzalo Garcia start alongside star forward Kylian Mbappe, who was finally back to full strength after missing much of the competition due to illness, but it failed to pay dividends.
Paris St Germain quickly took advantage of Real's defensive weakness, netting two goals in the first nine minutes, as the LaLiga side appeared utterly outclassed.
"We were two goals down and we couldn't find our footing," Alonso said. "It was a painful defeat, we must admit that we were not up to standard today."
Real made no meaningful changes at the break, with Alonso telling reporters he believed they had some scoring chances before he made a flurry of substitutions midway through the second half.
"We had some shortcomings at some points and sometimes it's good to see our mistakes and you can draw lessons for the future," he said.
Though the bitter taste of defeat would linger, Alonso assured fans that better things were to come next season and he did not rule out the possibility of further new signings.
"We start a new age after a break, with fresh minds," he said. "We want to build a team that plays as a unit, with everyone playing together... we were one match away and it's painful and let's see what happens now."