Alonso dreams of white Christmas in Real Madrid's final match of 2025
Underfire Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso will be hoping to remain in charge of Los Blancos over the Christmas break but must first oversee a Liga victory against Sevilla to sate the club's hierarchy.
Pressure has mounted on the Basque coach in recent weeks following a downturn in form, with speculation rife that Alonso would be shown the door should they lose at home to Manchester City in the Champions League last Wednesday.
His side's battling performance in the subsequent 2-1 defeat to Pep Guardiola's team spared Alonso but on the back of two unconvincing wins against more modest opposition, Alonso's situation seems more perilous than ever.
Kylian Mbappe's scintillating form this term -- 28 goals in 23 outings in all competitions -- has carried Real, and Alonso was forced to deploy the Frenchman, who missed the loss against City with a broken finger, for the full 90 minutes against Alaves last weekend and then in the Copa del Rey against third-tier Talavera.
He netted three goals and provided an assist across both matches as Madrid edged Alaves 2-1 in the league, before scraping past Talavera 3-2 on Wednesday.
Mbappe's tally for the calendar year now stands at 58, one fewer than Cristiano Ronaldo's club record from 2013, with one match remaining on the schedule.
Despite maintaining their four-point gap to Liga leaders Barcelona and booking their spot in the last 16 of the Spanish Cup, Alonso's reliance on Mbappe while struggling to get the best of the rest of his star-studded squad will weigh no less heavily on the mind of club president Florentino Perez.
"The numbers are what they are but Rodrygo (Goes) has scored in both of the previous two games and we need more guys who have got that clinical edge," Alonso said after beating Talavera.
"(Now) We have just one focus, which is Sevilla.
"We need the three points, we want a positive feeling around the place and to close the year on a high."
Real Madrid host midtable Sevilla on Saturday, and go into the match without having tasted league defeat to the Andalusians in over seven years.
Their opponents have, however, shown an appetite for a big-name upset this season and sensationally downed Barcelona 4-1 in early October.
Alonso will be desperate to avoid such a turnaround and complete the 'Derbi Sevillano' set when the league starts back up again in early January and Madrid face Sevilla's city rivals Real Betis.
But he will be in no doubt that to stay in the Bernabeu hotseat until then, victory on its own this time might still not be enough.