Alonso focused only on Man City clash amid speculation over Real Madrid future

Xabi Alonso's full focus is on Real Madrid's upcoming Champions League clash against Manchester City, despite speculation around his future.

The pressure on Alonso increased after Los Blancos lost 2-0 at home to Celta Vigo on Sunday, with the Spanish giants also seeing three players receive red cards, with one of those being substitute Endrick.

Madrid have won just one of their last four LaLiga matches, leaving them four points behind rivals Barcelona at the summit. The club's hierarchy reportedly met on Monday to discuss the state of play.

Meanwhile, in the Champions League, Madrid are fifth after winning four of their opening five games.

Amid the doubts over Alonso’s future, Real Madrid Castilla boss Alvaro Arbeloa has been hinted at as a possible replacement, with Zinedane Zidane and Jurgen Klopp also reportedly of interest.

However, Alonso insisted he is focused on the task at hand, which is facing Man City on Wednesday.

“When you're coaching Real Madrid, you're prepared to deal with all these situations, and all I'm thinking about is tomorrow's match,” said Alonso when asked about the rumours.

“This is a team, this is a club, and we're all united.

“When you're the Real Madrid coach, you have to be prepared to face these situations calmly, with unity, and with the responsibility that I feel, and I’m looking forward for what’s to come and that starts tomorrow [Man City].

“We're focused solely on City and the Champions League, and this can change quickly. Fortunately, in football, for better or for worse, the vision, the perspective, can shift quickly, and we're at that moment.”

This will be the 15th time that Madrid and Man City have faced each other in the Champions League. Since their first meeting in the 2012-13 season, it is already the most-played fixture in the competition during this period (14 games).

This will be the first managerial meeting between Alonso and Pep Guardiola. Alonso made 79 appearances in his playing career under Guardiola (W58 D12 L9), all for Bayern Munich between August 2014 and May 2016.

Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni believes the players must do more to help Alonso turn their fortunes around.

“We are all with Xabi,” said Tchouameni.

“If we want to win matches, we have to fight for everything with the coach, with the team, all in the same direction.

“At the end of the day, we're on the pitch. We have to do things better than we already have. Tomorrow we have a good opportunity to change the dynamic a little and continue in the Champions League with more points.

“If we lose 2-0, it's because there was a problem with us on the field, like intensity, like technical fouls, and all that. It's not the coach's fault. We are the ones on the field. We have to improve and we're going to do it.”