Xabi Alonso returned to Real Madrid as one of the most highly-regarded young coaches in world football but after six months in the job he is already facing an uncertain future. Defeat to his old mentor Pep Guardiola has deepened the crisis.
Real Madrid's performance in the 2-1 loss to Man City was not one of a team that had given up on their coach. They were fighting until the end, but it was not enough. Back-to-back defeats at the Bernabeu and just two wins in eight leaves Alonso in a precarious position.
Reports had claimed Alonso could be sacked if beaten at the Bernabeu, however the response from his players and the Spanish media suggest that he is not going anywhere just yet. But it seems time is running out for the Real Madrid legend to turn things around.
Jude Bellingham is adamant that the players are "100 per cent" behind Alonso. "The manager has been great," the England star told TNT Sports. "I personally have a great relationship with him and I know a lot of the boys do too.
"After that run of draws, we had some great conversations internally and felt we'd put that form behind us before the last couple of games. No one is downing tools, no one complaining or moaning. We take it on the chin and keep fighting.
"We're still trying to work it out within the changing room regardless of what goes on outside. We know that's not helpful. One thing is how we're managing games. Certain points where we have to suffer it feels like we always concede and it puts us on the back foot and makes us have to play a way we don't want to.
"But in the changing room we have what we need to turn it around, we need maybe a bit of luck or maybe something we need to discuss internally. I have faith this season isn't over just because we're in a bad run of form."
Real Madrid's season is very much not lost. LaLiga leaders Barcelona are only four points clear after 16 games and Real Madrid remain in the top eight of the Champions League standings despite losing to Guardiola's City.
Alonso made such an impressive start to the season, with 15 wins from his first 16 games, including a 2-1 victory over Barcelona in El Clasico in October.
However, the team are currently in the midst of an alarming slide. Three defeats in this run of eight games that was kick-started by the loss to Liverpool. It was only 1-0, but Real Madrid were outclassed when Alonso returned to Anfield.
Since then, Real Madrid have narrowly beaten Olympiakos and comfortably won at Athletic Club, drawn to Elche, Rayo Vallecano and Girona and now lost at home to Celta Vigo and Man City.
There was an uptick in performance from the defeat over the weekend, but results matter more than anything for Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. Alonso knows that all too well from his time at the club as a player.
"The performance was very intense, really professional," he said after the defeat to City.
"We knew it was a Champions League level game, and they have given their best. From my side, no complaints at all about anything. It is hard to take another defeat, but we have tried until the end."
Alonso has not had it easy implementing the ideas that brought him success at Bayer Leverkusen, where he won the double in an unbeaten domestic campaign in 2023/24.
His ideas align more with his old Bayern head coach Guardiola than his former Real boss Carlo Ancelotti, who along with Zinedine Zidane mastered the art of managing the egos of the galacticos at the Bernabeu.
Alonso is a manager in a modern sense and wants all the players to contribute in attack and defence. That has not been the method that has brought Real Madrid success, though, and there have been teething issues.
Vinicius Junior's angry reaction to being substituted in the win over Barcelona in October was a sign of these problems, and the Spanish media suggest they have not gone away.
Alonso knows what it takes to be successful at Real Madrid as a player, but as a coach, the jury is still out. There is no doubting his quality, the only concern is around if he is the right fit.
