Alonso Navigating a Precarious Line at the Bernabéu Despite Dressing Room Backing.

No offensive player in Los Blancos' history had endured failing to find the net for as long as Rodrygo, but eventually he was freed and he had a declaration to send, acted out for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in an extended drought and was starting only his fifth match this term, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the advantage against the English champions. Then he turned and sprinted towards the bench to hug Xabi Alonso, the boss in the spotlight for whom this could represent an even greater relief.

“This is a difficult period for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Results aren't working out and I aimed to prove the public that we are united with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been lost, a setback taking its place. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso noted. That can transpire when you’re in a “delicate” state, he continued, but at least Madrid had responded. This time, they could not engineer a turnaround. Endrick, on as a substitute having played 11 minutes all season, struck the bar in the final seconds.

A Reserved Verdict

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo said. The issue was whether it would be enough for Alonso to keep his role. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was perceived internally. “We have shown that we’re behind the manager: we have performed creditably, provided 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so the axe was reserved, sentencing suspended, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Different Form of Loss

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second time in four days, extending their recent run to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this seemed a little different. This was Manchester City, not a domestic opponent. Streamlined, they had competed with intensity, the easiest and most critical charge not aimed at them in this instance. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a spot-kick, almost earning something at the end. There were “numerous of very good things” about this performance, the boss stated, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, on this occasion.

The Fans' Ambivalent Response

That was not completely the full story. There were moments in the second half, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At full time, some of supporters had done so again, although there was in addition pockets of appreciation. But for the most part, there was a subdued stream to the doors. “It's to be expected, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso stated: “This is nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were times when they clapped too.”

Dressing Room Unity Remains Evident

“I have the support of the players,” Alonso said. And if he backed them, they backed him too, at least towards the public. There has been a unification, conversations: the coach had accommodated them, perhaps more than they had adapted to him, meeting a point not precisely in the center.

How lasting a solution that is is still an matter of debate. One small moment in the post-match press conference seemed significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to stick to his principles, Alonso had allowed that notion to hang there, responding: “I share a good rapport with Pep, we know each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Foundation of Fight

Above all though, he could be satisfied that there was a fight, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they defended him. This support may have been theatrical, done out of professionalism or mutual survival, but in this context, it was important. The intensity with which they played had been too – even if there is a risk of the most elementary of expectations somehow being framed as a form of achievement.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a strategy, that their shortcomings were not his responsibility. “I think my colleague Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The key is [for] the players to improve the approach. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have witnessed a change.”

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

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

“I think the manager has been great. I individually have a excellent relationship with him,” Bellingham stated. “After the sequence of games where we tied a few, we had some very productive conversations internally.”

“All things passes in the end,” Alonso philosophized, maybe talking as much about a difficult spell as his own predicament.