Four things Xabi Alonso must do to save his job at Real Madrid amid increasing pressure | OneFootball

Xabi Alonso is on the brink of being sacked by Real Madrid, having only won two of his last seven matches across all competitions.

The club trails Barcelona by four points in La Liga and a growing section of the Madrid dressing room appears to be unhappy with Alonso’s management.

We’ve taken a closer look at his current situation and have assessed the four things he must do over the coming weeks in order to save his job.

Beat Manchester City

Even a draw might not be good enough for Alonso, given the pressure that’s currently on his shoulders.

According to reports in Spain, the 44-year-old will be sacked if Real Madrid lose against Manchester City tomorrow night.

However, it’s likely that only a win against City will restore confidence in Alonso, given some of the recent results that Madrid have endured.

In Europe, Alonso’s side have boasted a good record, having won four of their five Champions League matches so far.

However, having already lost against Liverpool, Man City will prove to be a sturdy test in midweek.

If Alonso wants to last in the Real Madrid job for the foreseeable future, he’ll have to fix his relationship with Vinicius.

According to reports from last month, the Brazilian has told Real Madrid that he won’t renew his contract with the club while his relationship with Alonso remains strained.

When managing a club like Madrid, managing egos is arguably just as big a job as being tactically switched on.

Recent reports have claimed that Alonso’s relationship with the winger is now on the mend, but the pair still don’t completely see eye-to-eye.

Find the right tactical balance

From the way Alonso had Bayer Leverkusen playing, there’s no doubt that he’s had to adjust his tactics since joining Madrid.

One of the biggest problems facing Alonso is how Madrid defends when out of possession. He’s been clear that he wants the entire team to press, but it’s obvious that he’s struggled to implement those ideas.

“In my view, we all have to defend. The 11 players have to press,” Alonso said back in June.

“Vinicius Jr, Jude, Fede Valverde, Mbappe. All of them.”

Following Madrid’s latest loss against Celta Vigo, the Spaniard came out with a scathing quote about his sides work ethic.

“We were better with 10 men than with 11. Simply because at 10 men, at least we started running and working hard,” Alonso said after the game.

Become less reliant on Kylian Mbappe

Mbappe has been in fine form under Alonso, but similar to Man City with Haaland in the first few months of the season, Madrid are arguably too reliant on the Frenchman.

Indeed, when Mbappe has failed to score this season, Real Madrid have only won twice and failed to win the other three matches.

Across all competitions, he’s scored 25 goals this season, which is 20 more than any other Madrid player has managed.

Mbappe will usually produce the goods, but when he doesn’t, Madrid have a big problem that Alonso needs to fix.