Alonso Treading a Precarious Path at the Bernabéu Amidst Dressing Room Support.

No attacker in Real Madrid’s annals had endured failing to find the net for as long as Rodrygo, but at last he was released and he had a message to broadcast, executed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had been goalless in nine months and was starting only his fifth match this campaign, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the advantage against Manchester City. Then he spun and charged towards the sideline to greet Xabi Alonso, the boss on the edge for whom this could signal an more significant relief.

“This is a difficult time for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Things are not going our way and I sought to demonstrate the public that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been lost, another loss ensuing. City had turned it around, taking 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso remarked. That can occur when you’re in a “delicate” situation, he added, but at least Madrid had reacted. This time, they could not pull off a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played a handful of minutes all season, struck the crossbar in the closing stages.

A Suspended Verdict

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo conceded. The question was whether it would be enough for Alonso to retain his job. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We demonstrated that we’re supporting the coach: we have performed creditably, given 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so the axe was postponed, sentencing suspended, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Different Kind of Defeat

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second occasion in four days, perpetuating their uninspiring streak to just two victories in eight, but this seemed a somewhat distinct. This was a European powerhouse, as opposed to a La Liga opponent. Streamlined, they had competed with intensity, the simplest and most damning charge not directed at them in this instance. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a spot-kick, almost securing something at the end. There were “a lot of very good things” about this performance, the manager stated, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, tonight.

The Fans' Mixed Response

That was not entirely the complete picture. There were moments in the second half, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had voiced its disapproval. At the conclusion, a section of supporters had continued, although there was likewise sporadic clapping. But primarily, there was a quiet stream to the subway. “That’s normal, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso added: “This is nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were times when they applauded too.”

Player Backing Remains Firm

“I feel the support of the players,” Alonso said. And if he stood by them, they backed him too, at least towards the cameras. There has been a coming together, talks: the coach had considered them, arguably more than they had embraced him, finding somewhere not quite in the middle.

The longevity of a solution that is continues to be an matter of debate. One little exchange in the post-match press conference seemed telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to follow his own path, Alonso had permitted that idea to hang there, replying: “I have a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Foundation of Resistance

Crucially though, he could be satisfied that there was a spirit, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they stood up for him. Some of this may have been theatrical, done out of obligation or mutual survival, but in this tense environment, it was important. The commitment with which they played had been too – even if there is a danger of the most basic of expectations somehow being elevated as a kind of achievement.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a vision, that their shortcomings were not his responsibility. “I think my colleague Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to alter the attitude. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have witnessed a difference.”

Jude Bellingham, asked if they were behind the coach, also responded quantitatively: “100%.”

“We’re still striving to solve it in the locker room,” he said. “We understand that the [outside] noise will not be productive so it is about trying to resolve it in there.”

“In my opinion the gaffer has been great. I myself have a great connection with him,” Bellingham added. “Following the sequence of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations behind the scenes.”

“Every situation concludes in the end,” Alonso concluded, possibly speaking as much about a difficult spell as everything.