Real Madrid players defend Xabi Alonso despite Man City defeat

This morning, Real Madrid lost 1-2 against Man City in the sixth match of Champions League league phase. Even though Rodrygo opened the scoring, two mistakes from Courtois and Rüdiger allowed Man City to score twice in the first half, resulting in a defeat at the Bernabéu. It was their second home loss in a row, and the team have only collected two wins in their last eight matches.

Before the match, rumours suggested that Xabi Alonso could be fired if he lost to Man City. But after the game, Real Madrid players stepped forward to defend their coach, insisting they still believe in Alonso’s plan. 

Midfielder Jude Bellingham told TNT Sports: “I think the manager’s been great. I’ve personally got a great relationship with him, a lot of the lads do as well. After the first run of games we had some really great conversations internally. No one’s downing tools, no one’s complaining, moaning, thinking the season’s over.”

Rodrygo, who scored the only goal for Real Madrid, told Spanish broadcaster Movistar TV: “It’s a difficult moment for us, and for him too. Things are not going well and I wanted to show everyone that we are together with our coach. We need this unity to move on and achieve our objectives.”

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois added: “We want to win our games as we know the situation we are in. We’ve dropped too many points in La Liga, in the Champions League we are doing well, but today you should not lose if you want to stay in the top eight. We have shown we are behind the boss, we played well, gave 100 per cent. At least that’s the feeling I had on the pitch. We gave everything, we played well, but it could not be.”

However, Alonso cannot be blamed for this loss. His strategy worked, as Rodrygo scored the opening goal. For the equaliser, Courtois dropped the ball and allowed Nico O’Reilly to score. For the second goal, Rüdiger pulled Erling Haaland inside the penalty area, giving City a penalty.

After today’s match, Real Madrid sit 7th in the league-phase table with 12 points. Their final two matches will be against Monaco (January 21st) and Benfica (January 29th). If Real Madrid lose one of these games, their goal of finishing in the top eight will become more difficult than ever.