Alonso Treading a Fine Path at Madrid Even With Player Backing.

No attacker in Los Blancos' history had experienced failing to find the net for as long as Rodrygo, but at last he was released and he had a statement to send, performed for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in an extended drought and was starting only his fifth game this term, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the opening goal against Manchester City. Then he spun and ran towards the touchline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the boss on the edge for whom this could prove an even greater liberation.

“It’s a tough period for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Results aren't working out and I wanted to show people that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the advantage had been taken from them, another loss ensuing. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso observed. That can happen when you’re in a “sensitive” situation, he continued, but at least Madrid had responded. On this occasion, they could not engineer a comeback. Endrick, on as a substitute having played a handful of minutes all season, struck the woodwork in the dying moments.

A Delayed Judgment

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo said. The dilemma was whether it would be enough for Alonso to hold onto his position. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was perceived internally. “We have shown that we’re behind the coach: we have given a good account, provided 100%,” Courtois added. And so the final decision was reserved, consequences pending, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Distinct Kind of Defeat

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second match in four days, continuing their uninspiring streak to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this seemed a somewhat distinct. This was the Premier League champions, not a lesser opponent. Simplified, they had competed with intensity, the easiest and most damning criticism not aimed at them on this night. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a converted penalty, almost securing something at the final whistle. There were “a lot of very good things” about this performance, the boss argued, and there could be “no blame” of his players, tonight.

The Bernabéu's Ambivalent Response

That was not always the case. There were spells in the closing 45 minutes, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the conclusion, a portion of supporters had repeated that, although there was in addition pockets of appreciation. But primarily, there was a quiet procession to the subway. “It's to be expected, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso stated: “It’s nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were times when they cheered too.”

Squad Unity Remains Evident

“I sense the backing of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he backed them, they supported him too, at least for the cameras. There has been a rapprochement, talks: the coach had listened to them, maybe more than they had adapted to him, meeting somewhere not exactly in the middle.

How lasting a fix that is continues to be an open question. One seemingly minor incident in the post-match press conference seemed notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to stick to his principles, Alonso had allowed that idea to linger, replying: “I share a good relationship with Pep, we know each other well and he understands what he is implying.”

A Foundation of Fight

Most importantly though, he could be content that there was a resistance, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they defended him. Part of it may have been theatrical, done out of professionalism or mutual survival, but in this tense environment, it was important. The intensity with which they played had been too – even if there is a risk of the most basic of expectations somehow being framed as a form of achievement.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a strategy, that their mistakes were not his responsibility. “I think my teammate Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The only way is [for] the players to alter the mindset. The attitude is the key thing and today we have seen a change.”

Jude Bellingham, pressed if they were behind the coach, also replied in numbers: “100%.”

“We’re still trying to figure it out in the changing room,” he continued. “We understand that the [outside] speculation will not be productive so it is about attempting to resolve it in there.”

“I think the gaffer has been excellent. I myself have a strong relationship with him,” Bellingham concluded. “After the run of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations behind the scenes.”

“Everything concludes in the end,” Alonso philosophized, possibly referring as much about adversity as his own predicament.