Sports
Impressive win for Man City provides more doubts on Alonso’s future at Madrid
Manchester City piled the pressure on Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso with a 2-1 win on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League.
Speculation about Alonso’s future dominated the build-up to the game, and there was no respite for the former Spain midfielder as City came back from a goal down to win at the Santiago Bernabéu. After Real Madrid saw an early penalty overturned by VAR, Rodrygo opened the scoring in the 28th minute when the Brazilian finished off a well-worked move which began deep in the home side’s half.
But City recovered from a slow start to score twice in eight minutes at the end of the first half.
First, Nico O’Reilly tapped in from close range after Thibaut Courtois slipped Josko Gvardiol‘s header from a corner. And then referee Clement Turpin was back at the screen to award City a penalty for a clumsy challenge from Antonio Rüdiger on Erling Haaland.
Haaland tucked away the penalty and although Real Madrid created plenty of pressure in the second half, they couldn’t find a way through as they slumped to a second home defeat in the space of four days. It’s now just two wins from eight games for Alonso’s team, with his position seemingly hanging by a thread. — Rob Dawson
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Madrid competed, but is it enough to save Alonso?
Pep Guardiola had one piece of advice for Alonso in his Tuesday news conference: do things your way.
A day later at the Bernabéu, in the biggest game of Real Madrid’s season so far, Alonso did exactly that. If Alonso is to lose his job as Real Madrid coach, he might as well do so by picking a team he believes in and playing the football he wants to play, without compromise. That meant Gonzalo García, Alonso’s FIFA Club World Cup favorite, coming in for the injured Kylian Mbappé. It meant Federico Valverde playing as a reluctant right back, whether he likes it or not.
It meant Dani Ceballos coming into the midfield, with Arda Güler benched. And on the wing, Alonso kept faith in Rodrygo, despite his 32-game goalless streak. For much of this defeat, the players at least appeared to be playing for their coach, although it probably helped that it was a Champions League night, against a big name in annual rivals City, and facing Madrid’s public enemy number one, Guardiola.
Right from the start, there was a noticeable, crowd-pleasing effort to work hard out of possession, pressing City, and looking to win the ball high up the pitch, an Alonso trademark which had been seemingly forgotten — whether by accident or design — in Madrid’s slump in form in recent weeks.
After just two minutes, Madrid won a free kick on the edge of the box — initially given as a penalty — which sprung from Jude Bellingham winning the ball in a dangerous position. Three minutes later, as City broke forward, Valverde raced back to cover. Four minutes after that, it was Bellingham working to dispossess Bernardo Silva.
Then came the first-half flurry of goals, as Madrid’s lead was cancelled out. The second half started with Madrid looking bright, although there were worrying opportunities for City, too.
The reaction from the Bernabéu crowd to Alonso’s substitutions suggested the fans have doubts about the coach. His first change, after an hour, withdrawing fan favorite Garcia for midfielder Güler, was met with a bemused, questioning silence, with the team chasing a goal.
The noise when Ceballos was withdrawn for Brahim Díaz was similarly subdued. Only when Endrick was thrown on for a defender, Raúl Asencio, with 10 minutes left, did the Bernabéu roar. Madrid pushed for an equaliser to the end. They competed with City. This was a defeat, but it wasn’t an embarrassing one. And that might just be enough to keep Alonso in his job, at least for the time being.— Alex Kirland
City prove Pep’s point
Guardiola said at his news conference in Madrid on Tuesday that City are “in a little bit of transition.” You can understand why.
So often for big games in the Bernabéu, he’s had Éderson, Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gündogan and Kevin De Bruyne. Now, they’ve all moved on.
Only three players who started the Champions League final in 2023 — Haaland, Silva and Rúben Dias — also started against Real Madrid on Wednesday. This is a new-look team and ahead of the game, Guardiola said he wanted his players to “prove” they could perform on the big stage.
They answered with City’s first win here since 2020.
O’Reilly, only 20, was superb at left back up against Rodrygo, who had a good game. Jérémy Doku, 23, was a constant menace on the left wing and caused Valverde, stepping in at right back for Real Madrid, a lot of problems, particularly in the second half. Guardiola’s feeling is that the Bernabéu is a great test of a team, and City passed the examination. — Dawson
No Mbappé, but Rodrygo belatedly steps up
Mbappé was on the bench, but speaking prematch, Alonso made it clear there was little chance of him making an impact tonight. “Kylian isn’t fit to play,” Alonso told Spanish television. “There’s a risk.”
Without him and his nine Champions League goals this season, Madrid’s prospects of finding the back of Gianluigi Donnarumma‘s net looked slim. Rodrygo hadn’t scored in nine months going into Wednesday’s game. Garcia hadn’t scored in five months. Even Vinícius Júnior hadn’t scored in two months.
But if Rodrygo — who has looked completely lost in recent weeks — was going to score against any team, it had to be City. He’s always found another level in the Champions League, scoring twice as frequently in the competition as he does in LaLiga, and he’s scored more goals against City than any other side, with two goals when the teams met in 2022, and another two in 2024.
Now add 2025 to the list. His goal was a vintage Rodrygo finish, struck low across goal from the right-hand side, a position he personally doesn’t enjoy. A 32-game drought over, you could see the relief in his celebration. There was a hug for Alonso too, a recognition that the coach had kept faith, when few others had.
But the goal didn’t disguise Madrid’s lack of attacking threat. Garcia’s all-around play was good, but he had no shots in his hour on the pitch. Rodrygo had two shots, and Vinícius had four. This was nothing like the volume of chances that Mbappé usually guarantees.
Madrid looked most dangerous in the last few minutes, with Endrick on the pitch — his header hitting the bar — but it wasn’t enough. Any team would miss Mbappé’s quality, and Madrid here were no exception. — Kirkland
Set pieces taking the pressure off Haaland
It was a slow start for City’s new set-piece coach, James French, who arrived from Liverpool in the summer. There was a point at the start of November when City were the only Premier League team not to have scored from a set-piece, but that’s all changed in the last few weeks.
When Josko Gvardiol headed in Phil Foden‘s corner against Sunderland on Saturday, Guardiola immediately turned and pointed to his coaches on the bench with a beaming smile.
The goal against Real Madrid wasn’t quite as clean, but they all count. It was Gvardiol again who won his header from Rayan Cherki‘s corner and O’Reilly was in the right place at the right time to finish it off after the ball had come back off Courtois.
Courtois should have done better, but Guardiola and French won’t care.
City have now scored four goals from set-pieces in their last four games. It’s a big bonus for Guardiola, who admitted earlier in the season that his team had to find ways to take some of the pressure to score goals off Haaland’s shoulders. — Dawson
Madrid pay for defensive injury list
You can’t criticize Madrid’s defending in this game — which was often found wanting, with Courtois getting them out of trouble, making six saves — without mentioning the absentees. And it’s a long, long list.
Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão, Dean Huijsen and Ferland Mendy would be an elite first-choice back four, and that’s without mentioning Trent Alexander-Arnold and David Alaba. Of Madrid’s starting backline, only Álvaro Carreras was expected to be a weekly starter at the beginning of the season.
That said, Rudiger is still a vastly experienced, international defender. Valverde can be an exceptional stand-in right back, and Asencio has mostly performed adequately when called upon. And here, they had to deal with Haaland, plus the pace and trickery of Doku and Cherki.
Of the four, Carreras excelled, delivering one of the most impressive performances of his Madrid career to date, offering composure on the ball and helping the team progress up the pitch when he wasn’t focused on defending. Valverde did his job, and Asencio just about coped. But Rudiger committed a characteristically needless foul on Haaland, for the penalty that ultimately cost Madrid the result.
City had 12 shots, creating two “big chances”, for an xG of 2.54. Given Madrid’s injuries, perhaps that isn’t really too bad a showing. And they’ve relied on Courtois to get them out of trouble in even bigger, more consequential games than this. — Kirkland
City still looking for defensive stability
There’s no question that this City team is capable of scoring goals. They’re the Premier League’s top scorers with 35 and have found the net 13 times in their last four games in all competitions.
The problem they’ve got is keeping them out at the other end.
Guardiola’s team have kept just two clean sheets in their last 11 games. They kept out Sunderland on Saturday — despite some shaky moments early in the second half — but Manchester United are the only team in the top six who have conceded more than City’s 16.
They were fortunate to get away with the penalty incident in the opening two minutes — overturned by VAR — after both Gvardiol and Silva were caught on the ball in the same passage of play.
Rodrygo’s goal was poor, too. It started when Silva lost out to Carreras in the corner before Real Madrid were able to work the ball from back to front without City making a challenge.
City deserve credit for withstanding Real Madrid pressure at the end, but Guardiola will want to cut out the sloppiness which was on show for the first 30 minutes. — Dawson
NEW YORK — For a 22nd straight year, LeBron James is an All-Star.
The NBA announced its reserves for the Feb. 15 midseason showcase Sunday night on NBC before James and his Los Angeles Lakers faced the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Voting was conducted by the league’s coaches over the past week.
James, 41, was the last player announced, as the league’s oldest player extended his record for both overall and consecutive selections by another season.
“Super humbling,” James said Sunday night, after the Lakers lost to the Knicks 112-100. “The coaches voted, right, so mad respect to the coaches and them seeing the way I’m still playing at this latter stage of my career.
“And to be able to be an All-Star means a lot to my family, people that have been following my career, my LeBron faithful. They’ve been following my journey and it’s always rewarding just from a humbling standpoint to be able to be rewarded for what you put your work into.”
James did not play in last season’s All-Star event because of injury.
“You think about a star player, their prime is their All-NBA, All-Star years,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “And you know, he’s basically had a 20-plus-year prime. It’s kind of unheard of. It is unheard of, uncharted, whatever you want to call it. I mean, it’s incredible. It’s a testament to the work that he puts in.”
James was joined on the court Sunday by three other All-Stars: starters Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson, and fellow reserve selection Karl-Anthony Towns.
“Of course he deserves it,” teammate Doncic said of James. “He’s playing at a top level still at that age. It’s incredible to share the floor with him.”
The reserves named with James were led by Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant, whose 16th All-Star selection is fourth most of all time — breaking a tie with Hall of Famers Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett and putting him behind only Kobe Bryant (18), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19) and James.
Joining James and Durant as Western Conference reserve selections included a trio of first-time participants — Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren and Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija — plus Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (fourth) and Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (fifth).
“Multiple 50-point games, multiple 50-point games in the playoffs, let’s see, triple-double in the finals, NBA champion, most wins in the West over the last 10 years, he’s the point guard of that team … in my mind, all those things make sense, except for the one that was missing,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said of Murray.
In the Eastern Conference, Towns — making his sixth All-Star team — was joined by Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (seventh), Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (fourth), Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (second) and a trio of first-time picks: Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren, Miami Heat guard Norman Powell and Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson.
“I believe that he deserves it, and I think probably one of the best compliments you can give him is the fact that he starred in all of his roles that he’s had in his career, and he just continues to get better,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Powell. “He’s having his best years now after the age of 30.”
Under the NBA’s latest format change for the event — U.S. vs. the World — the 24 All-Star participants will be divided into three eight-player rosters — two featuring Americans, with the third made up of international players. They will each play two 12-minute games, with the two teams with the best record — or the two with the best point differential if they all go 1-1 — facing each other in the championship game.
The All-Star Game will take place at the LA Clippers‘ arena (Intuit Dome) in Inglewood, California. The Clippers were notably absent from Sunday’s announcement; despite going 16-4 over their past 20 games to partially erase a brutal start to the season, the team didn’t have any of its players selected for this year’s event.
Either Clippers star Kawhi Leonard — who since Dec. 20 has led the league in scoring and steals — or Rockets center Alperen Sengun is probably the best candidate to replace Milwaukee‘s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who will sit out the game because of a calf injury. NBA commissioner Adam Silver will pick a replacement for Antetokounmpo, plus any additional players should the need arise.
Other players chosen last month as starters were: Boston‘s Jaylen Brown, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, Philadelphia‘s Tyrese Maxey, Golden State‘s Stephen Curry, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver’s Nikola Jokic and San Antonio‘s Victor Wembanyama.
Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff will coach one of the All-Star teams. Either San Antonio’s Mitch Johnson or Adelman will coach another — that will be decided by results of games Sunday — and the NBA has not announced how the coach of the third team will be decided.
Bickerstaff earned his nod because the Pistons lead the Eastern Conference. Johnson or Adelman will go by having the best record in the Western Conference among eligible coaches; Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault coaches the team with the West’s best record, but he cannot coach the All-Star Game this year because he coached at the event last season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Zach Kram
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Kevin Pelton
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Kevin Pelton
ESPN Senior Writer
- Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus series
- Formerly a consultant with the Indiana Pacers
- Developed WARP rating and SCHOENE system
Multiple Authors
As the calendar turns to February, the 2026 NBA All-Star Game is just two weeks away. The starters were announced on Jan. 19 and include Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the West. Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham, Jaylen Brown, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Tyrese Maxey were named the starters in the East.
The reserves were announced on Sunday, including Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Kevin Durant in the West, as well as Donovan Mitchell and Karl-Anthony Towns in the East.
ESPN NBA Insiders Zach Kram and Kevin Pelton break down the full East and West rosters, including biggest surprises and snubs, and make their bold predictions.
Which player were you most surprised to see on the roster?
Pelton: LeBron James is the clear choice, but seeing Karl-Anthony Towns pop up was surprising given the pessimism over how he’s played this season on top of the Knicks’ recent slump. I think teammate Mikal Bridges has been New York’s second-best player after starter Jalen Brunson. Given Towns’ track record, the choice is certainly reasonable yet surprising nonetheless.
Kram: LeBron. It sounds silly to be surprised that a player who had made the last 21 All-Star games would make it 22 in a row. But given that James missed the first month and that his counting stats are down in his age-41 season, as well as the fierce competition in the Western Conference player pool, it was a surprise that his was the last name unveiled during the All-Star roster announcement.
Which player were you most surprised to see left off?
Pelton: Kawhi Leonard. Unless this is a secret part of the punishment from the NBA’s investigation into Leonard’s endorsement deal with Aspiration, I don’t get it. Leonard has been a top-10 player this season, and following a dreadful start, the LA Clippers have been one of the league’s hottest teams since Christmas. Anthony Edwards was the only West reserve I would have picked over Leonard. If I was taking a multi-time Finals MVP playing in L.A., Leonard was an easy choice over James.
Kram: Alperen Sengun was a first-time All-Star last season, has improved as a defender and has better counting stats across the board this year while helping lead the Houston Rockets to the second-best point differential in the West. New Rocket Kevin Durant was a shoo-in, but I think Sengun should have given Houston a second All-Star representative, even if that meant Devin Booker missed out and the surprising Phoenix Suns didn’t get a single player on the team.
Are we getting close to enough international All-Stars to do a normal USA/World 12 vs. 12 game?
Pelton: We might be closer to even in terms of internationals than East vs. West. Some of the answer depends on how creative the NBA is willing to get with its definition of international. Donovan Mitchell made the case recently to Andscape’s Marc J. Spears that he’d like to represent Panama, where his grandmother was born. If the NBA pushed every possible case like that or Kyrie Irving (born in Australia, though he grew up in the U.S.), they could get to 12 without diluting the meaning of being an All-Star.
Kram: There are almost enough worthy international players to round out a 12-person roster; if that were the framework this season, the eight actual international All-Stars would likely be joined by Sengun, Lauri Markkanen, Franz Wagner (despite a lack of playing time) and Joel Embiid. (Embiid was born in Cameroon but plays for Team USA internationally; the NBA could also choose to slot Towns, who was born in New Jersey but plays for the Dominican Republic, as an international representative.) Josh Giddey, OG Anunoby and Dillon Brooks have outside cases as well.
However, those players largely don’t have better All-Star cases than the ninth-through-12th-best Americans, so I wouldn’t advocate such a consequential change just yet. Let’s see how the format works with three teams (two American, one international) this year before deciding if the NBA should change the All-Star format once again.
Give us one bold prediction for the All-Star Game/mini-tournament.
Pelton: The NBA enjoys a short-term benefit from changing the format. Drafting teams and introducing a target score (aka the “Elam ending”) resulted in more competitive games initially before devolving into the defense-free play we’ve seen since. I could see the international team in particular taking things seriously and forcing their American opponents to up their game. However, I don’t see this or anything else “fixing” the All-Star Game long-term.
Kram: Victor Wembanyama takes MVP honors. Big men rarely win this award at the All-Star game — it’s gone to a guard or wing in 13 of the last 15 years, with Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo as the lone exceptions — but Wembanyama is so competitive that he’ll gain an advantage just by taking the event seriously. In his first All-Star game last year, he led his team in scoring (11 points in seven minutes), and he and Chris Paul were disqualified for trying to exploit a loophole in the skills challenge.
Coach Álvaro Arbeloa admitted Jude Bellingham is “an important loss” after the midfielder was substituted just 10 minutes into Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano on Sunday. The club confirmed on Sunday evening that the issue was with Bellingham’s left hamstring.
Kylian Mbappé scored a 100th-minute penalty to give Madrid the three points in LaLiga after a tough game which saw Rayo’s Jorge de Frutos level after Vinícius Júnior‘s early goal, before the visitors had two players sent off.
The Bernabéu crowd whistled the team pre-match — and again as they struggled during the second half — after Madrid’s midweek defeat at Benfica in the Champions League.
“We don’t know about Jude yet,” Arbeloa said in his post-match news conference, when asked about Bellingham’s injury.
The England international had gone down clutching his thigh after chasing a ball down the right wing with the game still goalless, and after being consoled by teammates, limped off the pitch, looking visibly upset and wiping away tears, as he was replaced by substitute Brahim Díaz.
“[Bellingham] has made a great effort in every game since I’ve been here,” Arbeloa said. “It’s a very important loss, but we have an extraordinary squad.”
Bellingham will now undergo tests to determine the extent of the problem.
The 22-year-old’s injury could be a major concern for England boss Thomas Tuchel ahead of Wembley friendlies against Uruguay and Japan next month.
Bellingham was one of the players — alongside Vinícius — singled out by some fans with whistles before the game, as their names were announced on the stadium loudspeakers.
Bellingham has had an injury-hit season, missing the early part of the campaign after undergoing shoulder surgery last summer.
– Mbappé scores last-gasp penalty as Real Madrid edge Rayo
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“I respect the Bernabéu crowd, and I’ll always ask for their support,” Arbeloa said, when asked about the whistles.
Arbeloa insisted that Madrid hadn’t been fortunate to be given nine minutes of added time at the end of the second half, with their winning penalty being awarded in the 98th minute, and Mbappé scoring two minutes later.
“It could have been more,” Arbeloa said. “Every time visiting teams take a goal kick here, it takes a minute.”
The coach admitted that his team need to be more consistent, after a difficult start to his time in charge.
“I’m not Gandalf the White,” Arbeloa said, referring to the fictional wizard. “What I’m getting is what I wanted from my players: commitment and effort.”
Information from PA was used in this report.
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