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NO REPRIEVE FOR THE XAB

Heading into midweek's clash with the Premier League champions, the future of Xabi Alonso as head coach appeared as up in the air like a Spanish omelette being flipped. Only a handful of matches into his reign, the only unsightly blot on his copybook had been an unacceptable heavy defeat against Atlético. But, since the start of November, Madrid have only won three victories in nine outings, with arguably their worst performances being stalemates against perceived La Liga lesser teams, and ending with a embarrassing loss at the Bernabéu at the hands of the Galician side.

In the premier club competition, the Spanish giants still appear likely to secure an all-important quarter-final place despite their reverse to City, a defeat that was met with shrill whistles from the crowd from hard-to-please fans who had actually witnessed their knack-ravaged squad play reasonably well.

"If you fail to win in your own stadium that can happen," admitted the coach of the reaction from the notoriously demanding crowd. "We persevered, we tried until the end and despite all the problems we have [with injuries] the players left it all on the pitch. Today there is nothing to criticise. Our form over the past two months haven’t been good, or what we wanted. We’re self-critical, but have to keep working and believing that things will improve."

Amid speculation Madrid’s high-profile stars are not enamored with Alonso's demands for tactical drills, endure lengthy analysis sessions and compulsory evening classes about the economics of fishing in Galicia, there was no shortage of public backing for the under-pressure manager.

After netting the first goal, Rodrygo slapped hands with his manager by the sideline, with both Thibaut Courtois and the midfielder provided heartwarming post-game comments in front of the TV cameras. "The manager’s been great," tooted Bellingham, in an act of unedifying sycophancy he might do well to replicate next time he’s on England duty. "I’ve personally got a great relationship with him, many of the guys do too. After the first run of games when we had some draws, we had some great conversations within the group. In the last couple of games, we have simply let ourselves down again. Yet no one is downing tools, no one is grumbling or whining, thinking our campaign is finished."

Although it might be unusual for the UK press to distort Bellingham's words to fit a narrative, it could be argued that by saying that “a lot” of his teammates have a good relationship with the coach, the midfielder was subtly hinting that a significant number do not. Vinícius Júnior has evidently had disagreements with the manager and he is widely reported to have informed Madrid’s overlords he will not ink a contract extension while Alonso remains in charge. It makes you think what the Brazilian thought about the next day's coverage in Spain, which gave Alonso a free pass for this defeat while laying the blame firmly on Viní’s wasteful feet.

STATEMENT FROM THE NEWS

"Freedom of expression and privacy rights are universal human rights. No supporter surrenders those rights just because they travel abroad. This measure creates an intimidating environment of surveillance that directly contradicts the inclusive ethos the tournament is supposed to represent and it should be scrapped at once" – a supporters' group director, the head of a fan organization, condemns the Trump regime’s plan requiring fans heading to the United States for the World Cup to disclose information about their social media profiles.