Real Madrid fell to a fourth defeat of the season on Wednesday night, at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. A result that only augments pressure on manager Xabi Alonso, who has now overseen two straight defeats and a run of just two wins in their last eight games.

Despite that, and despite a number of stories in recent weeks that the dressing room were not fully behind Alonso, several Real Madrid players came out to defend their manager. Although Los Blancos did not manage a result against City, there has been an acknowledgement that the required intensity was there.

Rodrygo – ‘It’s a difficult moment for Alonso’

One of the players that has had the least amount of protagonism is Rodrygo Goes, but the Brazilian was seen in an embrace with his coach at the end of the game.

“It’s a difficult time for him, just like it is for us. Things aren’t going well, and he wanted to show that we’re all in this together, with our coach. There’s a lot of talk, but I wanted to say this: we’re all in this together, and we need this unity to keep moving forward and achieve our goals,” Diario AS quote.

"𝑬𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏 𝒏𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒓".
Rodrygo, con @rsierraplus.#UCL #LaCasaDelFútbol

— Fútbol en Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarFutbol) December 10, 2025

‘The coach is great’ – Jude Bellingham

Meanwhile England international Jude Bellingham is another name who has reportedly not seen eye-to-eye with Alonso, but he also threw his weight behind the Basque manager.

“The coach is great. I personally have an excellent relationship with him, and I know many of my teammates do too. After the run of draws, we had some very good internal discussions and felt we’d put that streak behind us, except for the last two matches. Nobody’s giving up, nobody’s complaining or moaning.”

"We're still trying to work it out within the changing room!"

"We'll have to take the sh*t on the chin!"

Jude Bellingham on what's going wrong at Real Madrid 🗣️@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK | @julesbreach

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 10, 2025

“We’re still trying to sort it out, looking at what we can improve, regardless of what’s happening outside. The dressing room has what it takes to turn things around. Maybe we just need a bit of luck or to discuss something internally.”

Thibaut Courtois: ‘We showed we’re alive’

Thibaut Courtois has been cited as one of the players that is more on board with Alonso’s methods. Not for the first time, the Belgian goalkeeper defended his coach.

“We don’t see the City game as a test for him. We want to win because we know the situation we’re in: we’ve dropped too many points in the league, and although we’re doing well in the Champions League, we can’t afford to fall out of the top eight. But I think today we showed that we’re behind the manager, that we played well, giving 100%. And that was evident on the pitch, or at least that’s the feeling I had on the pitch. We gave it our all, we played a good game, and it just wasn’t meant to be.”

Raul Asencio: “The dressing room is 100% behind Xabi Alonso”

Central defender Raul Asencio has also seen a downturn in game time under Alonso, only being used in central defence or at right-back after a series of injuries. He too had positive words on Alonso.

“We’re under scrutiny every match, but that’s always been the case at Real Madrid. We know the pressure we face in every game, whether things are going well or badly. All I can say is that the dressing room understands the message Xabi Alonso is conveying, that the dressing room is 100% behind Xabi Alonso, and that the daily atmosphere at Valdebebas is very, very good.”

“But it’s true that we’re experiencing a situation that’s perhaps a little different, atypical for Real Madrid seasons. And the only thing we players can do is change our attitude, which is the most important thing; or ultimately, what everyone wants to see: a change. Aurelien mentioned it the other day, that attitude is the main thing to change. And today we saw a change.”

Before the game, Tchouameni had spoken to the media and wrested blame from Alonso, claiming it was down to the players to make sure they changed things. Alonso was sanguine in defeat after the match, feeling that there was ‘nothing to reproach his players for’.