Manager Alonso Navigating a Fine Tightrope at Madrid Even With Dressing Room Endorsement.

No attacker in Los Blancos' annals had endured scoreless for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but finally he was released and he had a message to deliver, acted out for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in an extended drought and was beginning only his fifth appearance this season, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the advantage against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he turned and charged towards the touchline to greet Xabi Alonso, the coach on the edge for whom this could prove an more significant relief.

“This is a difficult period for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Things aren’t coming off and I wanted to show people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been taken from them, a setback following. City had turned it around, going 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso remarked. That can transpire when you’re in a “delicate” condition, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had responded. On this occasion, they could not engineer a comeback. Endrick, brought on having played 11 minutes all season, hit the crossbar in the dying moments.

A Reserved Verdict

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo said. The question was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to keep his job. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was felt privately. “We have shown that we’re behind the coach: we have performed creditably, offered 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so the final decision was postponed, sentencing suspended, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A Distinct Form of Setback

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second occasion in four days, extending their recent run to just two victories in eight, but this seemed a little different. This was the Premier League champions, as opposed to a La Liga opponent. Stripped down, they had competed with intensity, the easiest and most harsh criticism not directed at them on this night. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a penalty, nearly salvaging something at the final whistle. There were “many of very good things” about this performance, the head coach stated, and there could be “no blame” of his players, on this occasion.

The Bernabéu's Mixed Response

That was not always the complete picture. There were moments in the second half, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the conclusion, a section of supporters had done so again, although there was likewise pockets of appreciation. But for the most part, there was a subdued procession to the subway. “We understand that, we accept it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso remarked: “This is nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were moments when they applauded too.”

Player Backing Is Strong

“I sense the support of the players,” Alonso said. And if he backed them, they stood by him too, at least in front of the public. There has been a coming together, talks: the coach had listened to them, perhaps more than they had embraced him, meeting somewhere not quite in the center.

How lasting a solution that is remains an open question. One small incident in the post-match press conference appeared significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to follow his own path, Alonso had let that idea to remain unanswered, replying: “I have a good rapport with Pep, we know each other well and he knows what he is implying.”

A Foundation of Resistance

Crucially though, he could be pleased that there was a spirit, a response. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they defended him. Part of it may have been performative, done out of professionalism or self-preservation, but in this context, it was important. The intensity with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a risk of the most fundamental of requirements somehow being framed as a kind of success.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a vision, that their mistakes were not his responsibility. “I think my colleague Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The only way is [for] the players to improve the approach. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have observed a difference.”

Jude Bellingham, questioned if they were with the coach, also answered with a figure: “100%.”

“We persist in attempting to figure it out in the dressing room,” he elaborated. “We know that the [outside] speculation will not be beneficial so it is about striving to fix it in there.”

“Personally, I feel the coach has been great. I individually have a strong rapport with him,” Bellingham concluded. “After the spell of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations among ourselves.”

“Everything ends in the end,” Alonso philosophized, perhaps talking as much about poor form as anything else.