Alonso Navigating a Thin Line at Madrid Even With Player Endorsement.

No forward in the club's annals had gone failing to find the net for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but at last he was released and he had a declaration to broadcast, performed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had not scored in almost a year and was beginning only his fifth appearance this campaign, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the lead against the English champions. Then he spun and sprinted towards the sideline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the boss under pressure for whom this could signal an profound release.

“It’s a tough time for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Results aren't working out and I aimed to show the public that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the lead had been surrendered, a setback following. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso observed. That can happen when you’re in a “fragile” state, he added, but at least Madrid had responded. This time, they could not pull off a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played very little all season, hit the bar in the final seconds.

A Delayed Sentence

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo said. The question was whether it would be enough for Alonso to retain his position. “We didn't view it as [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 understood behind closed doors. “We have shown that we’re behind the coach: we have given a good account, provided 100%,” Courtois added. And so judgment was withheld, consequences suspended, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Distinct Form of Loss

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second time in four days, continuing their recent run to just two victories in eight, but this was a little different. This was Manchester City, as opposed to a domestic opponent. Streamlined, they had shown fight, the most obvious and most damning accusation not directed at them on this night. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a spot-kick, nearly securing something at the final whistle. There were “many of very good things” about this display, the manager argued, and there could be “no blame” of his players, not this time.

The Bernabéu's Ambivalent Reception

That was not always the full story. There were periods in the closing 45 minutes, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the conclusion, a section of supporters had done so again, although there was in addition pockets of appreciation. But for the most part, there was a quiet flow to the exits. “It's to be expected, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso remarked: “It’s nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were instances when they applauded too.”

Dressing Room Support Remains Evident

“I have the support of the players,” Alonso said. And if he backed them, they stood by him too, at least for the media. 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 center.

How lasting a remedy that is is still an matter of debate. One small moment in the post-match press conference seemed telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to do things his way, Alonso had let that idea to linger, answering: “I have a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is implying.”

A Foundation of Reaction

Crucially though, he could be satisfied that there was a fight, a response. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they defended him. Some of this may have been for show, done out of obligation or self-preservation, but in this climate, it was meaningful. The effort with which they played had been as well – even if there is a danger of the most elementary of standards somehow being promoted as a kind of achievement.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a plan, that their mistakes were not his responsibility. “I think my colleague Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The key is [for] the players to alter the attitude. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have observed a shift.”

Jude Bellingham, pressed if they were supporting the coach, also responded in numbers: “100%.”

“We persist in attempting to figure it out in the dressing room,” he continued. “It's clear that the [outside] chatter will not be beneficial so it is about striving to fix it in there.”

“Personally, I feel the manager has been great. I individually have a strong rapport with him,” Bellingham added. “After the spell of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations among ourselves.”

“Everything passes in the end,” Alonso concluded, maybe referring as much about a difficult spell as everything.