Real Madrid suffered their fourth defeat of the season on Wednesday night, this time at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. A result that only increases the pressure on coach Xabi Alonso, who now has two consecutive losses and just two wins in the last eight matches.
Despite the difficult situation and the many rumors in recent weeks that the dressing room is not fully behind the coach, several Real Madrid players publicly defended Alonso. Although Los Blancos couldn’t get a result against City, it has been acknowledged within the squad that the required intensity was present.
One of the players with the fewest minutes this season, Rodrygo Goes, was seen embracing the coach after the match.
“It’s a difficult moment for him, just as it is for us. Things aren’t going well, and he wanted to show that we are together in this journey, together with the coach. There’s a lot of noise, but I want to say this: we are all united, and this unity is what we need to move forward and achieve our objectives,” the Brazilian is quoted as saying by Diario AS.
Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham — for whom reports in England claimed there had been disagreements with Alonso — also openly expressed his support for the Basque coach.
“The coach is fantastic. Personally, I have a very good relationship with him, and I know many of my teammates feel the same. After those consecutive draws, we had some very good internal discussions and thought we had moved past that period, except for the last two matches. No one is giving up, no one is complaining.”
“We’re still trying to find solutions, to see what we can improve regardless of what is said outside. The dressing room has everything it needs to turn the situation around. Maybe we need a bit of luck or another internal discussion.”
Thibaut Courtois — known as a supporter of Alonso’s methods — also once again publicly defended the coach.
“We don’t see the match against City as a test for him. We want to win because we know the situation we’re in: we’ve dropped too many points in the league, and even though we’re doing well in the Champions League, we can’t allow our form to drop. But today we showed that we are behind the coach, that we played well and gave 100%. That was visible on the pitch — at least that’s how I felt. We gave everything, played a strong match, but it just wasn’t meant for us to get points.”
Centre-back Raúl Asencio — who has seen fewer minutes under Alonso — also shared positive messages.
“We are under pressure every match, but that’s normal at Real Madrid. We know what is required, both when things go well and when they don’t. What I can say is that the dressing room understands Xabi Alonso’s message, that the support for him is 100%, and that the daily atmosphere at Valdebebas is very, very good.”
“But it’s true that we are experiencing a somewhat unusual situation compared to recent Real Madrid seasons. The only thing we can do as players is change our attitude — that’s the most important thing. Aurélien said it the other day too: attitude is the first thing that needs to change. And today, we saw a change.”
Before the match, Tchouameni had spoken to the media, taking responsibility upon himself and stating clearly that it’s the players who must turn the situation around. After the loss to City, Xabi Alonso remained calm, emphasizing that “there was nothing to criticize the players for.”
