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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” Xabi Alonso stated emphatically, maybe protesting somewhat excessively. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he added on the eve before the English champions visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for another meeting of a very modern classic. “I anticipate the challenge ahead, starting tomorrow—an opening to redirect the disappointment. Our minds are fixed solely on City. Football, for better or worse, is a game of swift changes.” A defeat and things could shift instantly, and definitively: this chance is an duty, too.

Crisis Talks After Desperate Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Late into the night, crisis talks continued, the club’s hierarchy forming their own opinions after a single win in five league games. Their analyses were not the same and while severe measures remain on hold, tolerance has limits, the names of possible successors already out. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso said here

“For sure the coach had a good plan but, in the end we, the players, are the ones on the pitch,” Aurélien Tchouaméni said. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Quick Descent After Initial Success

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a state of emergency is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even ties are unacceptable, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Sold as a systems coach, precisely the required remedy after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was an anomaly at a players’ club.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a statement a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than supporting the trainer, there was silence.

Frictions Emerging

Internally, the verdict was obvious: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would repeat that decision, Alonso answered: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Strains had been laid bare, a rift between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A typical grievance began to slip out about all the directives, the film sessions, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least cover cracks, to bring calm. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been reached; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Reconciliation was staged when Vinícius embraced the 44-year-old as he departed. A brief break followed. Four days later, though, Celta defeated them and so it unravels again.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as significant as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be denied, but it is intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about injuries and unfairness, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: no identity, a deficient mentality, an absence of tactical shape.

The Manager: The Easiest Target

But the simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, was the central theme to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to redirect attention to the match, which he did with almost every response. The shortest answer he gave might have been the most significant, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the complete roster was behind him, Alonso replied in a single word: “yes.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” Alonso added. “We understand the ethos of Real Madrid thoroughly; it's what makes it the globe's greatest club. One must adjust, absorb knowledge, engage with the squad. Certain days bring success, others less so. We must confront this with vigor and optimism; it's the sole path to reversal.”

It was when he was asked if he felt alone that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it from above, he replied: “Our contact with the board is continuous, stemming from belief, solidarity, and care. We stand as one in this situation. Our mindset is geared to confront all obstacles: the team is cohesive, fully believing we can triumph tomorrow, with absolute certainty. It's the Champions League. The Bernabéu is our stage. The ambiance will be unforgettable. That fosters a distinct vitality, particularly within the squad.”