Real Madrid Don't Dismiss, Xabi Alonso Believes He Can Go Through Crisis

Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso. (UEFA)

JAKARTA - Rumors of the dismissal of coach Xabi Alonso emerged after Real Madrid's defeat in the Champions League. However, club officials confirmed that there was no dismissal of coach and Alonso remained confident Madrid would go through the crisis.

Madrid are at their lowest point after losing their second consecutive defeat at home at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. After being humiliated by Celta Vigo 2-0 in the Spanish LaLiga competition, Madrid were forced to give up Manchester City with a score of 2-1 in the Champions League.

In the match which was held on Thursday, December 11, 2025 in the morning WIB, Madrid actually started well despite losing many injured players. Even Kylian Mbappe was still forced to sit on the bench even though Alonso didn't play in the end.

However, Madrid had taken the lead through Rodrygo. But Man City was able to rise quickly. After Nico O's goal which equalized the score, Man City finally won through Erling Haaland's penalty.

The defeat against Man City put Alonso under pressure. Although Madrid still survive in the last eight and have the opportunity to qualify automatically for the Champions League knockout round, the poor results in the two home games are clearly a record for Alonso. Because they only won twice from the last seven matches.

However, club officials still trust Alonso. Rumors of dismissal immediately disappeared after Madrid continued to give the former player the opportunity to make improvements so that the ship did not sink.

The defeat in the Champions League is still understandable because Los Merengues cannot appear at full strength. Apart from Mbappe who only sat on the bench, Madrid lost a row of defenders, Dani Carvajal, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dean Huijsen, David Alaba and Ferland Mendy. The midfielder Eduardo Camavinga also cannot be played.

Losing many defenders forced Alonso to attract Federico Valverde's captain to play right-back. Likewise veteran defender Antonio Rudiger was forced to start.

The 32-year-old defender has recently recovered from injury and has only played five times this season. With an unsuitable performance at the highest level, Rudiger struggled to keep pace with Haaland. In the aftermath, he was forced to block Haaland's pace which resulted in a penalty.

The real match is tight and each team dominates. They can take advantage of opportunities from corner and penalty kick. But the players still don't give up and keep trying until the last breath. I give appreciation to the players. Only the final result is not in line with expectations," said Alonso as quoted by UEFA.

"We have to learn from this defeat. We have to remain confident, work hard and believe this difficult situation will end soon. Our target is clear, which is more consistent in various competitions. This is the Champions League and we have to raise our level," said the former Bayer Leverkusen coach.

"In this match we actually scored goals, created chances and worked hard until the last minute. This must be improved," he said.

Alonso also understands the attitude of supporters who are disappointed with the result of Madrid's match. Their disappointment was expressed by giving advice and mocking the team at the end of the match. Suitants at the end of the match became a signal of disappointment from supporters.

"We understand why they are in a suit. We have to be able to accept it because the demands are indeed very high," said Alonso.

"We want to turn things around immediately by improving the players' mentality and physicality. I also hope that those who are injured will recover soon. The competition is also still long," he said.

The defeat to Man City made Madrid drop to seventh with 12 points. Los Blancos' position is still safe in the top eight.

Meanwhile in LaLiga, Madrid are still stuck in second place after having points 36. They are four points adrift of Barcelona at the top.