Real Madrid Leadership Backs Alonso Despite Crumbling Form

- by Olatunji Johnson

Senior officials express patience after Man City loss, but pressure mounts ahead of season-defining stretch

Real Madrid’s hierarchy has offered a vote of confidence in under-fire coach Xabi Alonso, despite a troubling 2-1 home defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday that deepened the club’s ongoing crisis.

Senior officials are not yet “expressing concern” over Alonso’s position, according to sources close to the board, and he will remain in charge for Sunday’s La Liga match against Alavés. But with only two wins in the last eight games across all competitions, patience inside the Bernabéu is wearing thin.

The loss to City—Madrid’s second at home in four days—has left the team four points behind Barcelona in La Liga and fighting for a top-eight finish in the new Champions League league phase. Alonso, who joined from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, is now squarely under the microscope.

“The feeling internally is that it’s too early to panic, but the results have to turn quickly,” a club source told The Athletic. “Sunday is now a must-win.”

Real Madrid will close 2025 with three matches across three competitions: away to Alavés, a Copa del Rey tie against Talavera de la Reina, and a league clash with Sevilla. How the team navigates this stretch could determine Alonso’s fate.

Should Madrid fall further behind in the title race before the winter break, the club’s leadership—including president Florentino Pérez—may be forced to reconsider their stance. The extended pause in January would allow time to secure a replacement, though such a move is not currently under active discussion.

For now, the message from the top is one of public support. But in the echoing corridors of the Bernabéu, where whistles rained down during another sluggish second half against City, tolerance for false starts is famously short.

Alonso’s project remains on probation—and the clock is ticking.

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