Alonso defiant as pressure grows on Real manager before Man City visit

Who: Real Madrid vs Manchester City What: UEFA Champions League Where: Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain When: Wednesday, December 10, at 9pm (20:00 GMT) How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 17:00 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream.Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso faces mounting pressure before Wednesday’s Champions League group-stage meeting against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, but the Spaniard was confident the team could turn their poor form around.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah a transfer target for Saudi Arabialist 2 of 4Mohamed Salah fans at Arab Cup react to his Liverpool benchinglist 3 of 4UCL: Mo Salah dropped before Liverpool’s crucial match against Inter Milanlist 4 of 4Fernandes double helps Man United to 4-1 win as Wolves’ misery continuesend of listAlonso, a former Real Madrid and Spain midfielder, took over from former manager Carlo Ancelotti at the end of last season, but has struggled to impress with a side that also underachieved last season.In their way on Wednesday are a City side led by former Barcelona midfielder and manager Guardiola, adding to the weight of expectation on the match.Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at the league phase encounter.How do Real Madrid and Man City stand in the Champions League?Real are fifth in the Champions League standings on 12 points, three behind leaders Arsenal. City are ninth on 10 points, chasing a top-eight finish that would secure direct qualification to the last 16.What happened in Real Madrid’s last match?Real were beaten 2-0 on Sunday by Celta Vigo, with Real reduced to nine players after defenders Fran Garcia and Alvaro Carreras were sent off.It left the club second in La Liga with 36 points, four behind leaders Barcelona, while Los Blancos have now only won two of their last seven matches across all competitions.Adding to Alonso’s challenges, Madrid could be without as many as eight key players, including top-scorer Kylian Mbappe, who missed training on Tuesday with a muscle injury.If Mbappe is unable to play against City on Wednesday, it would be a big blow for coach Alonso, with Spanish media reporting that a defeat could lead to his dismissal.What happened in Man City’s last match?City stormed to a 3-0 win against Sunderland in the English top flight on Saturday to maintain their chances of lifting a fifth Premier League title in six seasons.Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Phil Foden netted the goals that handed City a third straight Premier League win.What has Madrid manager Alonso said about his Real challenge?Despite their disappointing run in recent weeks, Alonso remains optimistic.“Football can change quickly … for good or for bad,” Alonso told a news conference on Tuesday. “After the Celta match, we’ve already drawn our conclusions.“Now it’s just City in our minds. It’s the Champions League, we’re at the Bernabeu. It will be different because of the energy that’s created. That’s what’s on our minds, what’s ahead of us.“We’re all in this together. United. Convinced that this is an opportunity. We need to have the energy to connect with the Bernabeu. If that happens, we have a chance to win.“In football, you have to adapt and learn. Some days are good, others are not,” Alonso added.“But we are making progress with every match. Good thing we have a challenge tomorrow. The best way to move forward is to face it. It’s a challenge that we must rise to.” Real Madrid vs Man City never disappoints 🍿#UCL pic.twitter.com/G2SN3Uaoqi — UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 5, 2025 Is Alonso’s position at Real Madrid truly under threat?Asked whether his job could be at risk if Real falter against City, Alonso remained defiant.“When you coach Real Madrid, you have to be prepared for situations like this. We are a team, we are all united,” he said.“To reverse the disappointment, which is normal, all we’re thinking about now is City.”Guardiola offers support to former employee AlonsoIn between managing Barcelona and Manchester City, Guardiola coached Bayern Munich, where Alonso was a player for his fellow Spaniard.“I only wish him the best, I love and appreciate him,” Guardiola said.“Every team is different, and Xabi knows what he has to do. It is a process, and let us see how this ends.“A season is a roller coaster; there are injuries and things happen. Since coaching at Barcelona, I wanted the team to grow from October and then see what happens and how it ends.”Stat attack – Mbappe vs HaalandMbappe’s absence would be a significant blow for Alonso’s team, with the Frenchman leading both the La Liga and Champions League scoring charts this season.The 26-year-old striker has scored 25 goals in 21 matches across all competitions this season and has been Madrid’s key player.Mbappe against Man City’s Erling Haaland first happened in the round of 16 in February 2020. Newly arrived at Borussia Dortmund, Haaland scored two in the first leg against Paris Saint-Germain and revealed his “Zen” goal celebration, sitting down cross-legged as if meditating. Mbappe and PSG won in Paris to advance 3-2 on aggregate score.Last season, in the knockout playoffs in February, Mbappe scored four times, including a hat-trick in the second leg as Madrid beat Man City in both games, despite Haaland’s two goals in the first leg.Mbappe’s four goals at Olympiakos last month lifted him to be top scorer in the Champions League this season. He needs one more to reach 10 in a Champions League season for the first time during his decade in the competition.Haaland has five so far, and already got into double figures in three Champions League campaigns.Head-to-headWednesday’s clash will be the 13th meeting between the clubs in the past decade, a rivalry that has intensified as Real and City combined to claim three of the last four Champions League titles.Real won the competition in 2022 and 2024, beating City en route to both titles, while the English side lifted their maiden Champions League trophy in 2023 after overcoming the Spanish club in the semifinal that year.Real Madrid team newsReal Madrid’s French superstar Mbappe did not come out to train with his teammates on Tuesday on the eve of his team’s key Champions League clash against City.The forward broke a finger during the defeat by Celta Vigo in La Liga on Sunday, and Madrid have said his absence from training was because of that injury, but also other discomfort he suffered in that match.The 26-year-old joins an already packed injury list that includes Dani Carvajal, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dean Huijsen, Eder Militao, David Alaba, Ferland Mendy and Eduardo Camavinga.Manchester City team newsDefender John Stones missed the win against Sunderland with an unspecified injury.City will definitely be without Mateo Kovacic and Rodri, who remain injury absentees.Predicted Real Madrid starting lineupCourtois; Valverde, Asencio, Rudiger, Carreras; Tchouameni, Ceballos; Guler, Bellingham, Vinicius Jr; GarciaPredicted Manchester City starting lineupDonnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez; Cherki, Reijnders, Foden, Doku; Haaland