Xabi Alonso Treading a Fine Line at the Bernabéu Despite Player Endorsement.

No forward in the club's record books had endured scoreless for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but at last he was unleashed and he had a message to broadcast, executed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in almost a year and was starting only his fifth match this campaign, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the lead against Manchester City. Then he spun and ran towards the bench to embrace Xabi Alonso, the boss under pressure for whom this could represent an more significant liberation.

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

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the advantage had been taken from them, another loss following. City had turned it around, taking 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso remarked. That can occur when you’re in a “fragile” condition, he continued, but at least Madrid had reacted. This time, they could not pull off a comeback. Endrick, on as a substitute having played very little all season, struck the bar in the final seconds.

A Delayed Judgment

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo conceded. The question was whether it would be enough for Alonso to retain his job. “We didn't view it as [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “Our performance proved that we’re behind the coach: we have given a good account, offered 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so the final decision was reserved, consequences suspended, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A Distinct Kind of Defeat

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second match in four days, continuing their poor form to two wins in eight, but this was a little different. This was a European powerhouse, not a domestic opponent. Stripped down, they had competed with intensity, the simplest and most damning criticism not directed at them on this night. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a penalty, almost securing something at the final whistle. There were “a lot of very good things” about this showing, the head coach said, and there could be “no blame” of his players, tonight.

The Fans' Mixed Reception

That was not completely the complete picture. There were periods in the second half, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the conclusion, some of supporters had continued, although there was in addition pockets of appreciation. But primarily, there was a subdued flow to the subway. “It's to be expected, we accept it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso added: “This is nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were instances when they cheered too.”

Dressing Room Support Is Evident

“I feel the confidence of the players,” Alonso said. And if he supported them, they supported him too, at least in front of the media. There has been a rapprochement, talks: the coach had listened to them, maybe more than they had adapted to him, meeting common ground not quite in the middle.

How lasting a remedy that is is still an matter of debate. One small incident in the after-game press conference felt significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to stick to his principles, Alonso had allowed that notion to remain unanswered, answering: “I share a good relationship with Pep, we understand each other well and he is aware of what he is talking about.”

A Basis of Reaction

Most importantly though, he could be content that there was a resistance, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they publicly backed him. Some of this may have been for show, done out of duty or self-preservation, but in this context, it was meaningful. The effort with which they played had been as well – even if there is a temptation of the most basic of requirements somehow being promoted as a form of positive.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a vision, that their failings were not his responsibility. “I believe my colleague Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The key is [for] the players to change the approach. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have observed a change.”

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

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

“I think the gaffer has been superb. I myself have a strong relationship with him,” Bellingham concluded. “Following the spell of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations internally.”

“Every situation passes in the end,” Alonso mused, possibly referring as much about adversity as his own predicament.