Real Madrid’s 2–1 loss to Manchester City set off every alarm at the Bernabéu, and the crowd reacted in the bluntest way possible, booing throughout the second half and again after the final whistle. The fans’ response didn’t come out of nowhere. It’s tied to the team’s dip in form that’s been dragging on for weeks and has pushed Xabi Alonso into the center of the criticism. The coach himself acknowledged the rough stretch and didn’t try to dodge the backlash, saying “it’s normal, it’s not new” and that the boos are part of the club’s absolute level of demand.
The performance drop weighs more than the numbers
Even though Real Madrid have only four losses in twenty two matches, with two of them in the Champions League, the frustration runs deeper than the stats suggest. The team lost to Liverpool in the fourth round and fell again to City, which pushed them down to seventh place in the league phase, still inside the direct qualification zone for the round of sixteen but far from the leading position the club usually holds.
The mood has soured because the soccer has lost intensity, ideas and consistency, and fans pick up on that fast. Xabi, clearly under pressure, pushed back against the negative reading of his team, saying “you portray it one way, but you need to stay calm because the season is long.” The line makes sense on paper, but it feels distant from the reality of a club where every stumble turns into a national debate and, given Real Madrid’s size, an international one.
The coach keeps trying to show that nothing is out of control and insists the team still has room to respond. Even so, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Real Madrid have lost some of the confidence they carried not long ago. When he says he saw positive things and that the team “kept going until the end and never gave up,” he’s highlighting their effort, but that’s rarely enough in Madrid’s environment, which almost never accepts praise without a win attached.
Xabi asks for calm, but the Bernabéu doesn’t move at that pace
The relationship between the team and the stands is hanging by a thread. The fans know there’s still a long season ahead, but they don’t tend to offer patience to anyone who isn’t delivering convincing performances. Xabi, in turn, tries to protect his players and stresses that they “gave everything until their last breath.” Still, the atmosphere between the squad and the coach hasn’t been great.
And the soccer they’ve played recently doesn’t match the club’s ambition. No matter how much Xabi calls for calm, the Bernabéu has already made it clear it doesn’t plan to wait for a late reaction.