Pressure around Xabi Alonso intensified on Wednesday night as Real Madrid slipped to a 2-1 home defeat against Manchester City in the Champions League, a result that deepens the uncertainty surrounding the manager’s position at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Madrid entered the match already in a fragile state, with only two wins in their previous seven outings. The loss to City added to that slide, making it two consecutive home defeats and extending a worrying run that has come to define their last month and a half.
Despite the growing noise around the club, both players and senior management attempted to defuse doubts about Alonso, immediately after the match. Supporters outside the stadium held banners urging patience, while key figures within the dressing room stood firmly behind their coach.
Thibaut Courtois reiterated that the team was “all in” for Alonso, insisting that the squad was united. Jude Bellingham echoed the same sentiment, emphasising that the players believe the current issues can be fixed under Alonso’s leadership.
Those public displays of loyalty, however, sit uncomfortably alongside the reality on the pitch. Madrid managed just one attempt on target, their lowest tally in a Champions League home match in over two decades. Even though they started brightly and took the lead through Rodrygo, City turned the game around before half-time, capitalising on defensive errors and converting a penalty that ultimately proved decisive.
The presence of Zinedine Zidane in the stands only fuelled speculation. The Frenchman remains a revered figure at the club, and any appearance he makes is inevitably interpreted through the lens of managerial politics. Madrid’s hierarchy has not signalled any immediate intention to make a change, but the silence is noticeable.
Within the club, the context behind the dip in results has been acknowledged. Alonso has been forced to handle a defensive crisis, with injuries depriving him of key starters. Kylian Mbappé, though named in the squad, was deemed unfit to take part and remained an unused substitute, another blow on a night where margins mattered.
The match itself offered a summary of Madrid’s problems. The early fluidity gradually gave way to chaos, with the team’s structure collapsing under City’s pressure. For sections of the crowd, frustration reached a point where whistles broke out during the second half. When Endrick struck the crossbar late on, it felt symbolic: Madrid were fighting, but the momentum kept slipping away.
Beyond the defeat, the broader worry is the trajectory. Since the loss at Liverpool in early November, Madrid’s form has plummeted. The players have struggled to adapt to Alonso’s disciplined and tactically rigid approach, with murmurs emerging about a mismatch between his ideas and the squad’s natural instincts. Some within the club believe the players have another gear they are simply not accessing, while others feel Alonso’s methods may require more time than a results-driven environment like Real Madrid can afford.
For now, club officials maintain that Alonso is not in immediate danger. But the upcoming league match against Alavés on Sunday carries enormous weight. A third straight defeat could force the board to confront a decision they have been trying to avoid.
Alonso, meanwhile, struck a defiant but weary tone post-match. He insisted the team had delivered a committed performance and stated he had no complaints about their effort. Yet even he seemed aware that, at Real Madrid, effort alone rarely buys time.
The next few days, and the next result, may well determine whether Alonso can steady the ship or whether the club begins preparing for another change in the dugout.
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