Manager Alonso Navigating a Fine Tightrope at Madrid Amidst Dressing Room Support.

No attacker in Real Madrid’s record books had endured without a goal for as long as Rodrygo, but eventually he was unleashed and he had a declaration to broadcast, acted out for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in almost a year and was beginning only his fifth game this campaign, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the opening goal against the English champions. Then he turned and charged towards the sideline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the manager in the spotlight for whom this could represent an more significant release.

“It’s a difficult moment for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Performances are not going our way and I aimed to demonstrate people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the advantage had been surrendered, another loss ensuing. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso noted. That can occur when you’re in a “sensitive” condition, he added, but at least Madrid had reacted. On this occasion, they could not pull off a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played very little all season, struck the bar in the dying moments.

A Suspended Judgment

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo conceded. The question was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to keep his job. “We didn't view it as [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was felt privately. “Our performance proved that we’re with the coach: we have played well, given 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the final decision was reserved, consequences pending, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Distinct Type of Defeat

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second time in four days, continuing their poor form to two wins in eight, but this was a somewhat distinct. This was a European powerhouse, rather than a lesser opponent. Stripped down, they had shown fight, the most obvious and most harsh accusation not aimed at them in this instance. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a penalty, nearly securing something at the death. There were “a lot of very good things” about this performance, the manager stated, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, on this occasion.

The Stadium's Ambivalent Response

That was not entirely the case. There were spells in the latter period, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the conclusion, some of supporters had continued, although there was likewise sporadic clapping. But mostly, there was a subdued flow to the subway. “That’s normal, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso added: “There's nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were times when they cheered too.”

Squad Backing Is Evident

“I have the backing of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he backed them, they backed him too, at least in front of the public. There has been a unification, discussions: the coach had accommodated them, perhaps more than they had embraced him, meeting common ground not quite in the center.

How lasting a solution that is is still an open question. One small incident in the after-game press conference seemed significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to do things his way, Alonso had permitted that idea to remain unanswered, replying: “I have a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he is aware of what he is saying.”

A Starting Point of Reaction

Above all though, he could be satisfied that there was a resistance, a response. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they stood up for him. This support may have been theatrical, done out of duty or self-interest, but in this climate, it was important. The commitment with which they played had been as well – even if there is a risk of the most fundamental of standards somehow being promoted as a kind of success.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a strategy, that their failings were not his responsibility. “I believe my colleague Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to alter the mindset. The attitude is the key thing and today we have seen a difference.”

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

“We are continuing striving to work it out in the changing room,” he elaborated. “We know that the [outside] speculation will not be helpful so it is about striving to fix it in there.”

“I think the manager has been superb. I personally have a great rapport with him,” Bellingham added. “Following the spell of games where we were held a few, we had some very productive conversations behind the scenes.”

“Every situation passes in the end,” Alonso philosophized, perhaps speaking as much about adversity as anything else.