Manager Alonso Walking a Fine Tightrope at the Bernabéu Despite Player Support.

No forward in Los Blancos' record books had endured without a goal for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but at last he was released and he had a declaration to deliver, executed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had not scored in an extended drought and was commencing only his fifth match this campaign, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the opening goal against Manchester City. Then he wheeled and ran towards the bench to greet Xabi Alonso, the boss under pressure for whom this could prove an even greater release.

“It’s a difficult time for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Things are not going our way and I wanted to prove the public that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been lost, a defeat taking its place. City had turned it around, going 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso observed. That can occur when you’re in a “fragile” situation, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had reacted. This time, they could not complete a comeback. Endrick, brought on having played very little all season, rattled the crossbar in the dying moments.

A Suspended Judgment

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo said. The issue was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to hold onto his role. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was felt privately. “Our performance proved that we’re behind the coach: we have given a good account, provided 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the axe was postponed, consequences pending, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Different Form of Defeat

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second time in four days, perpetuating their recent run to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this seemed a little different. This was a European powerhouse, as opposed to a domestic opponent. Stripped down, they had shown fight, the easiest and most critical criticism not aimed at them this time. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a spot-kick, coming close to salvaging something at the final whistle. There were “many of very good things” about this display, the manager stated, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, not this time.

The Stadium's Mixed Reception

That was not entirely the full story. There were moments in the latter period, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At full time, a section of supporters had done so again, although there was likewise some applause. But mostly, there was a quiet procession to the subway. “That’s normal, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso added: “There's nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were times when they applauded too.”

Player Backing Remains Firm

“I sense the backing of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he backed them, they stood by him too, at least in front of the cameras. There has been a rapprochement, discussions: the coach had listened to them, perhaps more than they had embraced him, reaching somewhere not precisely in the center.

Whether durable a fix that is remains an matter of debate. One small exchange in the after-game press conference appeared telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to do things his way, Alonso had allowed that notion to hang there, replying: “I share a good rapport with Pep, we understand each other well and he is aware of what he is saying.”

A Foundation of Fight

Crucially though, he could be content that there was a spirit, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they defended him. This support may have been for show, done out of obligation or self-preservation, but in this tense environment, it was important. The commitment with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a temptation of the most fundamental of standards somehow being framed as a form of positive.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a strategy, that their shortcomings were not his responsibility. “In my view my colleague Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The key is [for] the players to alter the attitude. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have witnessed a shift.”

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

“We are continuing striving to solve it in the changing room,” he said. “We understand that the [outside] chatter will not be helpful so it is about attempting to fix it in there.”

“I think the gaffer has been excellent. I personally have a excellent rapport with him,” Bellingham added. “After the sequence of games where we drew a few, we had some honest conversations among ourselves.”

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