Xabi Alonso Navigating a Precarious Path at the Bernabéu Amidst Dressing Room Support.

No attacker in Los Blancos' annals had experienced failing to find the net for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but at last he was released and he had a declaration to send, executed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had not scored in nine months and was starting only his fifth appearance this campaign, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the advantage against Manchester City. Then he turned and sprinted towards the sideline to greet Xabi Alonso, the manager on the edge for whom this could signal an more significant release.

“This is a challenging time for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Performances aren't working out and I aimed to demonstrate everyone that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the lead had been taken from them, a defeat taking its place. City had come back, taking 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso observed. That can happen when you’re in a “delicate” state, he continued, but at least Madrid had fought back. Ultimately, they could not complete a turnaround. Endrick, on as a substitute having played 11 minutes all season, struck the bar in the final seconds.

A Reserved Sentence

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo said. The issue was whether it would be enough for Alonso to hold onto his position. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was perceived internally. “Our performance proved that we’re behind the coach: we have played well, offered 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so the final decision was postponed, consequences delayed, with games against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Distinct Kind of Loss

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second time in four days, perpetuating their uninspiring streak to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this seemed a more respectable. This was Manchester City, as opposed to a domestic opponent. Stripped down, they had competed with intensity, the most obvious and most damning criticism not levelled at them this time. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a converted penalty, almost securing something at the final whistle. There were “numerous of very good things” about this showing, the boss argued, 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 periods in the closing 45 minutes, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the final whistle, a portion of supporters had done so again, although there was also sporadic clapping. But for the most part, there was a quiet procession to the exits. “It's to be expected, we understand it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso remarked: “This is nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were instances when they cheered too.”

Squad 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, talks: the coach had accommodated them, maybe more than they had adapted to him, finding a point not exactly in the middle.

Whether durable a remedy that is remains an unresolved issue. One little incident in the post-match press conference appeared significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to do things his way, Alonso had allowed that notion to hang there, answering: “I have a good rapport with Pep, we understand each other well and he is aware of what he is saying.”

A Foundation of Fight

Most importantly though, he could be pleased that there was a resistance, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they stood up for him. Part of it may have been for show, done out of professionalism or self-preservation, but in this climate, it was significant. The commitment with which they played had been as well – even if there is a risk of the most fundamental of expectations somehow being promoted as a form of achievement.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a strategy, that their shortcomings were not his responsibility. “I believe my colleague Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The sole solution is [for] the players to change the approach. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have observed a change.”

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

“We’re still attempting to solve it in the locker room,” he continued. “We understand that the [outside] speculation will not be productive so it is about attempting to fix it in there.”

“I think the manager has been superb. I individually have a great connection with him,” Bellingham concluded. “Following the run of games where we were held a few, we had some really great conversations among ourselves.”

“All things ends in the end,” Alonso concluded, maybe referring as much about adversity as everything.