Kylian Mbappe Update Spells Trouble for Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid
Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso did little to ease the panic surrounding Kylian Mbappé’s fitness, admitting his team “will miss” the superstar forward against Alavés.
The Frenchman missed training due to a muscular problem ahead of Manchester City’s trip to the Bernabéu on Wednesday evening. Mbappé made Alonso’s squad for the Champions League clash, but was an unused substitute by the time the final whistle solidified Los Blancos’ 2–1 defeat.
After another worrying result for the Spanish giants, Alonso, who was already shifting his focus to this weekend’s La Liga bout at Campo de Futbol de Mendizorrotza, gave an update on Mbappé’s status.
“It’s still too early to say if he’ll be available for Sunday,” the Spanish boss said. “He clearly wasn’t fit to play [against Man City]. If he’s not on the pitch, we’ll miss him, even though we had chances to score a second goal.”
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Rodrygo put Real Madrid ahead in the 28th minute—breaking his 32-game goal drought in style—but Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland responded quickly for the Cityzens, putting the pressure on the hosts to find an equalizer in the second half.
Without Mbappé, though, Alonso’s men could not find the back of the net again despite Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham having good chances to do so.
Mbappé a ‘Doubt’ for Alonso’s Biggest Test
Time to push the Zizou button?
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) December 11, 2025
Zinedine Zidane was at the Bernabeu last night, watching on as under-fire Xabi Alonso oversaw another home defeat.
Real Madrid have now won just twice in the last eight games. pic.twitter.com/QQpgmX3H2p
The pressure on Alonso is greater than ever before following Wednesday’s result as Real Madrid have now won just two of their last eight matches across all competitions.
Reports in Spain indicate the former Bayer Leverkusen manager could lose his job with another poor result in the build-up to the holdiay break. Dropping points would see the club fall even further behind in the La Liga title race; Los Blancos already trail Barcelona by four points.
According to MARCA, Mbappé remains a doubt for Real Madrid’s trip to Alavés. The 26-year-old is not training with the team and looks unlikely to be fit enough to start at the very least.
Alonso will be sweating over Mbappé’s fitness until the very last second ahead of Sunday's match. The France international has carried the goalscoring load for the team this season, scoring 25 goals in 21 appearances.
If he cannot feature, Alonso will have to make the tough decision of starting Gonzalo García again, or perhaps leaving Vinicius Junior and Rodryo alone up top.
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