Manchester City came from behind to defeat Real Madrid 2-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday, putting Xabi Alonso’s job as coach of the Spanish giants in jeopardy. Without injured phenom Kylian Mbappe, Madrid took the lead via Rodrygo Goes, but Nico O’Reilly and an Erling Haaland penalty put City ahead at halftime, securing Pep Guardiola’s three points. In the build-up to the game, Spanish media predicted that a defeat would clinch Alonso’s fate as Madrid coach, despite his team’s creditable performance in front of a furious Bernabeu.
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The record 15-time Champions League winners have already won only two of their past eight matches in all competitions, and they are battling for a spot in the top eight of the league phase standings.
“They were much better before we scored the first goal,” Guardiola confessed.
“We’ve played much better than today (at the Bernabeu) and we didn’t win.”
Alonso was obliged to sit his team’s top scorer Mbappe, citing knee soreness as a “risk,” and instead started 21-year-old striker Gonzalo Garcia.
Madrid eliminated City in last season’s Champions League play-off round in February, but Mbappe scored four goals in a 6-3 aggregate victory.
Fans whistled the squad several times in the second half as they attempted to recover.
“It’s normal, Madrid is a very demanding club, with demanding fans, we’ve been here for years — we know this can happen if we aren’t good,” Rodrygo told movistar.
“It’s fair and we have to accept it and try to improve to get out of this situation.”
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