Xabi Alonso Navigating a Fine Tightrope at the Bernabéu Even With Player Support.

No offensive player in Real Madrid’s history had gone without a goal for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but at last he was released and he had a statement to broadcast, acted out for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in almost a year and was beginning only his fifth match this campaign, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the opening goal against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he turned and ran towards the touchline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the manager under pressure for whom this could represent an more significant release.

“This is a difficult time for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Results aren’t coming off and I sought to show the public that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the advantage had been lost, a setback ensuing. City had turned it around, going 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso observed. That can occur when you’re in a “sensitive” situation, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had reacted. On this occasion, they could not complete a comeback. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played 11 minutes all season, hit the crossbar in the closing stages.

A Reserved Verdict

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo admitted. The issue was whether it would be enough for Alonso to retain 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 framed publicly, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We demonstrated that we’re supporting the manager: we have performed creditably, given 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the final decision was withheld, sentencing delayed, with games against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Different Type of Setback

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second time in four days, continuing their recent run to just two victories in eight, but this seemed a little different. This was the Premier League champions, not a La Liga opponent. Simplified, they had actually run, the most obvious and most damning charge not levelled at them in this instance. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a penalty, almost salvaging something at the final whistle. There were “many of very good things” about this performance, the head coach stated, and there could be “no blame” of his players, not this time.

The Bernabéu's Ambivalent Reaction

That was not always the case. There were moments in the closing 45 minutes, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the final whistle, a section of supporters had done so again, although there was likewise some applause. But for the most part, there was a subdued procession to the doors. “That’s normal, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso stated: “It’s nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were instances when they cheered too.”

Dressing Room Unity Is Strong

“I sense the confidence of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he stood by them, they stood by him too, at least in front of the public. There has been a unification, conversations: the coach had accommodated them, perhaps more than they had adapted to him, finding a point not exactly in the middle.

The longevity of a solution that is continues to be an matter of debate. One small moment in the after-game press conference appeared notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to do things his way, Alonso had permitted that implication to hang there, responding: “I share a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he understands what he is talking about.”

A Starting Point of Fight

Most importantly though, he could be content that there was a fight, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they defended him. This support may have been theatrical, done out of duty or mutual survival, but in this climate, it was significant. The commitment with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a temptation of the most basic of expectations somehow being elevated as a form of positive.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a plan, that their shortcomings were not his responsibility. “I believe my colleague Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The sole solution is [for] the players to change the approach. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have observed a change.”

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

“We persist in attempting to figure it out in the changing room,” he said. “We know that the [outside] chatter will not be beneficial so it is about trying to sort it out in there.”

“In my opinion the manager has been superb. I personally have a strong connection with him,” Bellingham stated. “After the sequence of games where we were held a few, we had some really great conversations among ourselves.”

“All things concludes in the end,” Alonso mused, possibly referring as much about a difficult spell as everything.