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12/10 13:13 CST Pressure is on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso ahead of Champions
League match against Man City
Pressure is on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso ahead of Champions League match
against Man City
By JAMES ROBSON
AP Soccer Writer
MANCHESTER, England (AP) --- The pressure is mounting on Real Madrid coach Xabi
Alonso ahead of Wednesday's Champions League match with Manchester City.
Madrid has won just two of its last seven in all competitions including a 2-0
loss to Celta Vigo over the weekend.
Ahead of the City match, Alonso had to contend with reports in the Spanish
media that he had lost control of the locker room.
"This is a team, and we all stand together," he said. "In soccer, you can
change perspective quickly, and we're at that point."
Concerns over Kylian Mbapp's availability were confirmed when the France
striker was named on the bench following a reported knee issue. Mbapp trained
separately to the rest of the team on Tuesday and Gonzalo Garcia was picked to
lead Madrid's attack.
City manager Pep Guardiola sympathized with Alonso, who he coached as a player
at Bayern Munich.
"Barcelona and Real Madrid are the toughest clubs to be manager of because of
the environment," he said. "It's a difficult place but he knows it --- it's the
reality of being here."
Other games on Wednesday include defending champion Paris Saint-Germain at
Athletic Bilbao, Arsenal at Club Brugge and Italian champion Napoli at Benfica.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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