Champions League: Manchester City Overturns Real Madrid, Xabi Alonso in Great Danger

In the Champions League, without their superstar Kylian Mbappé, Real Madrid suffered a 2-1 defeat against Manchester City in a thrilling match, marking their second consecutive loss at home. This situation puts immense pressure on coach Xabi Alonso, as back-to-back defeats may jeopardize his position.

Despite the lack of a trophy or medal at stake, this European classic felt like a final for the Basque coach, whose future is now more uncertain after this latest setback.

Alonso, who faced off against his mentor Pep Guardiola, might see his project end abruptly after just seven months at the Bernabéu, where two losses can cost a coach their job.

The performance of his players, improved from their humiliation against Celta Vigo just days prior, may grant him a temporary reprieve in their next match against Alavés, especially since there are no replacements of his caliber available in the market.

The exhausted Merengues ended the match under a new wave of boos but showed intensity and desire, suggesting that the star-studded Madrid team chooses when to show up.

Even with Haaland kept quiet, he was still crucial. The Spaniards opened the scoring with a counterattack goal from Rodrygo, assisted by Jude Bellingham, who ended the club's longest scoring drought (28th minute, 1-0). Young English defender Nico O’Reilly leveled the game shortly after (35th minute, 1-1), but Haaland converted a penalty just before halftime to put City ahead again (43rd minute, 2-1).

Haaland has now scored five goals in six Champions League matches this season, while Bellingham missed a golden opportunity to equalize for Madrid. The rest of the match proved challenging for the Madrid defense, missing several key players, but they were often saved by Thibaut Courtois.

Desperate and without Mbappé, Alonso threw all his offensive weapons into the fray, but neither Vinicius nor young Brazilian Endrick could find the net to change the outcome.