Alonso Walking a Thin Path at Real Madrid Despite Dressing Room Endorsement.

No forward in Real Madrid’s annals had gone scoreless for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but eventually he was released and he had a message to broadcast, executed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in an extended drought and was commencing only his fifth game this term, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the lead against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he turned and ran towards the sideline to greet Xabi Alonso, the manager in the spotlight for whom this could signal an more significant liberation.

“It’s a challenging time for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Results aren’t coming off and I aimed to prove the public that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the lead had been surrendered, a setback following. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso noted. That can transpire when you’re in a “sensitive” condition, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had reacted. Ultimately, they could not pull off a recovery. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played very little all season, rattled the woodwork in the dying moments.

A Reserved Judgment

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo conceded. The dilemma was whether it would be enough for Alonso to retain his role. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was felt privately. “We demonstrated that we’re supporting the manager: we have performed creditably, offered 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so the axe was withheld, consequences pending, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Distinct Form of Setback

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second occasion in four days, extending their recent run to two wins in eight, but this felt a more respectable. This was a European powerhouse, as opposed to a lesser opponent. Simplified, they had actually run, the easiest and most critical criticism not levelled at them on this night. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a spot-kick, nearly earning something at the final whistle. There were “many of very good things” about this showing, the head coach said, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, tonight.

The Bernabéu's Muted Response

That was not entirely the complete picture. There were periods in the latter period, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the final whistle, a section of supporters had done so again, although there was in addition some applause. But primarily, there was a muted flow to the subway. “We understand that, we understand it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso added: “There's nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were moments when they applauded too.”

Player Support Remains Evident

“I sense the confidence of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he stood by them, they supported him too, at least for the cameras. There has been a unification, talks: the coach had considered them, perhaps more than they had embraced him, meeting common ground not quite in the middle.

How lasting a fix that is remains an unresolved issue. One seemingly minor incident in the post-match press conference appeared significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to stick to his principles, Alonso had let that implication to linger, responding: “I have a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is implying.”

A Basis of Fight

Most importantly though, he could be satisfied that there was a fight, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they defended him. Part of it may have been theatrical, done out of professionalism or self-preservation, but in this context, it was meaningful. The commitment with which they played had been too – even if there is a risk of the most fundamental of expectations somehow being framed as a form of achievement.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a strategy, that their failings were not his doing. “I think my colleague Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The key is [for] the players to alter the approach. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have witnessed a difference.”

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

“We are continuing striving to work it out in the locker room,” he said. “We know that the [outside] chatter will not be beneficial so it is about striving to resolve it in there.”

“In my opinion the manager has been great. I myself have a great rapport with him,” Bellingham added. “After the spell of games where we tied a few, we had some very productive conversations behind the scenes.”

“Every situation passes in the end,” Alonso philosophized, maybe speaking as much about poor form as everything.