Manager Alonso Walking a Fine Line at Real Madrid Amidst Player Endorsement.

No attacker in Los Blancos' annals had experienced scoreless for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but at last he was unleashed and he had a message to broadcast, performed for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had been goalless in nine months and was beginning only his fifth game this season, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the lead against the English champions. Then he spun and ran towards the sideline to greet Xabi Alonso, the boss on the edge for whom this could prove an more significant liberation.

“It’s a challenging period for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Things aren't working out and I sought to show people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the advantage had been lost, another loss following. City had come back, taking 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso noted. That can occur when you’re in a “fragile” situation, he continued, but at least Madrid had fought back. Ultimately, they could not engineer a recovery. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played very little all season, struck the woodwork in the closing stages.

A Suspended Verdict

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo said. The dilemma 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],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was felt privately. “Our performance proved that we’re supporting the coach: we have performed creditably, offered 100%,” Courtois added. And so the axe was withheld, sentencing suspended, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A More Credible Type of Defeat

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second occasion in four days, continuing their uninspiring streak to two wins in eight, but this seemed a somewhat distinct. This was the Premier League champions, as opposed to a La Liga opponent. Stripped down, they had competed with intensity, the most obvious and most critical accusation not directed at them on this night. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a spot-kick, almost earning something at the death. There were “a lot of very good things” about this performance, the head coach stated, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, on this occasion.

The Fans' Muted Reaction

That was not completely the full story. There were periods in the closing 45 minutes, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At full time, a portion of supporters had done so again, although there was also some applause. But for the most part, there was a muted stream to the subway. “That’s normal, we understand it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso stated: “This is nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were moments when they clapped too.”

Dressing Room Unity Remains Firm

“I feel the backing of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he backed them, they supported him too, at least towards the cameras. There has been a rapprochement, talks: the coach had considered them, maybe more than they had accommodated him, finding a point not exactly in the center.

Whether durable a solution that is is still an open question. One little exchange in the after-game press conference felt notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to follow his own path, Alonso had let that implication to remain unanswered, responding: “I share a good rapport with Pep, we understand each other well and he is aware of what he is talking about.”

A Foundation of Fight

Crucially though, he could be content that there was a spirit, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they stood up for him. Some of this may have been performative, done out of duty or mutual survival, but in this context, it was significant. The intensity with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a temptation of the most basic of standards somehow being framed as a form of success.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a vision, that their shortcomings were not his fault. “I believe my teammate Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The key is [for] the players to improve the attitude. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have observed a difference.”

Jude Bellingham, questioned if they were supporting the coach, also responded quantitatively: “100%.”

“We are continuing striving to solve it in the dressing room,” he said. “We know that the [outside] noise will not be beneficial so it is about attempting to resolve it in there.”

“In my opinion the manager has been great. I personally have a excellent connection with him,” Bellingham added. “Following the run of games where we drew a few, we had some honest conversations behind the scenes.”

“All things concludes in the end,” Alonso mused, possibly talking as much about a difficult spell as anything else.