By The Canadian Press

Jeers as Real Madrid loses 2-1 to Man City and pressure grows on Alonso. Arsenal wins, PSG draws

Dec 10, 2025 | 4:36 PM

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso and a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday raised further questions about his future.

Arsenal remains perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champion Paris Saint-Germain was held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao.

Alonso had faced reports this week that he had lost control of the locker room and speculation over his position is likely to be intense after a latest defeat. It’s now just two wins in eight games for Madrid and back-to-back home losses.

There were jeers inside the Bernabeu at the final whistle.

“We know it’s a tough moment for us and for the coach,” Madrid winger Rodrygo said. “Things are not going our way and I wanted to show that we are behind our the coach. He has been trying. I wanted to show that we are together and we need to be united to keep moving forward and achieve our goals.”

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Rodrygo had put Madrid in front in the 28th minute, but goals from Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland before halftime sealed victory for City.

Alonso looked frustrated on the sidelines as he watched his blunt attack waste chances to salvage something in the absence of the injured Kylian Mbappé, who was an unused substitute.

Vinicius Junior failed to hit the target with two chances from close range and Jude Bellingham lifted another effort over the bar with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Bellingham said afterward the squad was “100%” behind Alonso.

“The noise will not be helpful. So it’s about us trying to figure it out inside the dressing room,” Bellingham told TNT Sports.

Record 15-time European champion Madrid is seventh in the standings, with only the top eight teams automatically advancing to the round of 16.

“As a player inside the changing room, seeing what we’ve got in there, working with the coach every day, I think we have everything we need to turn it around,” Bellingham said. “I’ve got full faith that this season isn’t over just because we’ve been on a bad run of form, and obviously as players it kills us and we’re going try to turn it around.”

Arsenal stays perfect

Top of the Premier League and top of the Champions League, too, Arsenal swept aside Club Brugge to maintain its 100% record in Europe.

Noni Madueke scored twice and Gabriel Martinelli got the other for Mikel Arteta’s team, which has seen its lead in England’s top flight cut from six points to two in recent weeks.

There are no such concerns in Europe.

“Our mentality is our strength,” Arteta said.

PSG couldn’t find a winner in Bilbao, but with 13 points after six games, the French giant has already equaled the total amount it picked up in the league phase last season before going on to win the trophy.

Italian champion Napoli lost 2-0 at Benfica, while Weston McKennie was on target for Juventus in a 2-0 win at Pafos.

Both Napoli and Juventus have only won two of their six games in the league phase so far.

Newcastle denied late on

Alejandro Grimaldo made the difference again for Bayer Leverkusen, scoring in the 88th to rescue a 2-2 draw against Newcastle.

A hero of Leverkusen’s surprise win at Man City last month, Grimaldo surged into the penalty area to level the score.

Leverkusen took an early lead when Bruno Guimaraes deflected Robert Andrich’s header into his own net. Nick Woltemade won a penalty that Anthony Gordon converted in the 51st before 19-year-old midfielder Lewis Miley headed Newcastle in front.

Leverkusen coach Kasper Hjulmand missed the game for personal reasons, the club said an hour before kickoff.

Jeers rang out at full time at Borussia Dortmund after Norway’s Bodo/Glimt sealed a 2-2 draw, equalizing twice after Julian Brandt goals for Dortmund.

The result helps neither team, with Dortmund’s chances of direct qualification for the round of 16 taking a dent. Bodo/Glimt has three draws but no wins in its debut Champions League season.

Ajax rallies to beat Qarabag

Ajax scored three goals late in the game to deny Qarabag a surprise win in one of the early kickoffs.

Four-time European champion Ajax twice trailed against its Azerbaijani opponent, but fought back to win 4-2 in Baku.

Qarabag has been one of the surprise packages in this season’s competition and led after 10 minutes through Camilo Duran. Matheus Silva scored two minutes into the second half to make it 2-1 after Kasper Dolberg had leveled for Ajax.

But Ajax powered back with three goals in 11 minutes. Oscar Gloukh scored in the 79th and 90th, with Anton Gaaei getting the other in the 82nd.

Copenhagen also scored late to win 3-2 at Villarreal.

Substitute Andreas Cornelius struck in the 90th to seal victory in a game where Copenhagen had twice been pegged back after taking the lead.

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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

James Robson, The Associated Press