Alonso Walking a Thin Tightrope at the Bernabéu Amidst Squad Endorsement.

No forward in Real Madrid’s annals had experienced without a goal for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but finally he was freed and he had a statement to deliver, acted out for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had been goalless in an extended drought and was beginning only his fifth game this term, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the advantage against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he wheeled and charged towards the bench to hug Xabi Alonso, the boss in the spotlight for whom this could prove an even greater liberation.

“It’s a tough period for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Things are not going our way and I wanted to prove the public that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the lead had been lost, another loss following. City had reversed the score, going 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso remarked. That can occur when you’re in a “fragile” condition, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had responded. Ultimately, they could not engineer a turnaround. Endrick, on as a substitute having played 11 minutes all season, struck the bar in the closing stages.

A Suspended Verdict

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo conceded. The question was whether it would be enough for Alonso to keep his job. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was felt privately. “Our performance proved that we’re supporting the coach: we have given a good account, provided 100%,” Courtois added. And so the final decision was withheld, consequences pending, with games against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A More Credible Form of Setback

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second time in four days, continuing their uninspiring streak to just two victories in eight, but this was a more respectable. This was a European powerhouse, as opposed to a lesser opponent. Streamlined, they had shown fight, the most obvious and most critical criticism not levelled at them on this night. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a converted penalty, almost securing something at the death. There were “a lot of very good things” about this performance, the manager said, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, on this occasion.

The Stadium's Ambivalent Response

That was not completely the complete picture. There were moments in the latter period, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At full time, a section of supporters had done so again, although there was likewise sporadic clapping. But for the most part, there was a muted procession to the exits. “We understand that, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso added: “This is nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were times when they applauded too.”

Dressing Room Support Is Firm

“I sense the support of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he stood by them, they supported him too, at least for the public. There has been a rapprochement, conversations: the coach had accommodated them, perhaps more than they had embraced him, reaching common ground not precisely in the middle.

The longevity of a remedy that is is still an unresolved issue. One seemingly minor moment in the post-match press conference felt notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to stick to his principles, Alonso had permitted that implication to hang there, responding: “I have a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is saying.”

A Foundation of Reaction

Most importantly though, he could be pleased 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 performative, done out of obligation or mutual survival, but in this tense environment, it was meaningful. The commitment with which they played had been too – even if there is a danger of the most fundamental of requirements somehow being framed as a type of success.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a vision, that their failings were not his doing. “I think my teammate Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The key is [for] the players to improve the attitude. The attitude is the key thing and today we have witnessed a change.”

Jude Bellingham, pressed if they were behind the coach, also answered with a figure: “100%.”

“We persist in attempting to work it out in the dressing room,” he continued. “We know that the [outside] speculation will not be productive so it is about striving to resolve it in there.”

“I think the coach has been great. I myself have a excellent connection with him,” Bellingham stated. “Following the spell of games where we tied a few, we had some honest conversations internally.”

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