Alonso Walking a Fine Path at Madrid Despite Squad Support.

No attacker in Real Madrid’s record books had gone without a goal for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but at last he was unleashed and he had a declaration to deliver, performed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in nine months and was starting only his fifth match this season, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the opening goal against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he spun and charged towards the bench to hug Xabi Alonso, the manager on the edge for whom this could represent an profound release.

“It’s a difficult time for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Performances aren’t coming off and I wanted to prove people that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the advantage had been lost, a setback ensuing. City had come back, taking 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso noted. That can happen when you’re in a “sensitive” state, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had responded. This time, they could not complete a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played 11 minutes all season, rattled the bar in the dying moments.

A Suspended Judgment

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo admitted. The question was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to keep 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 framed publicly, and how it was felt privately. “We have shown that we’re supporting the manager: we have performed creditably, provided 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the final decision was withheld, any action pending, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A More Credible Form of Loss

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second occasion in four days, continuing their recent run to just two victories in eight, but this seemed a somewhat distinct. This was a European powerhouse, not a La Liga opponent. Streamlined, they had competed with intensity, the simplest and most critical charge not levelled at them this time. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a spot-kick, almost earning something at the final whistle. There were “numerous of very good things” about this display, the head coach argued, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, on this occasion.

The Fans' Ambivalent Reception

That was not completely the full story. There were spells in the second half, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the conclusion, some of supporters had repeated that, although there was likewise some applause. But for the most part, there was a subdued procession to the exits. “That’s normal, we accept it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso stated: “It’s nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were times when they clapped too.”

Dressing Room Support Stands Evident

“I have the support of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he supported them, they backed him too, at least for the public. There has been a coming together, talks: the coach had listened to them, perhaps more than they had adapted to him, finding somewhere not exactly in the compromise.

The longevity of a fix that is continues to be an unresolved issue. One little exchange in the after-game press conference felt telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to stick to his principles, Alonso had permitted that implication to remain unanswered, answering: “I have a good connection with Pep, we know each other well and he understands what he is saying.”

A Basis of Reaction

Crucially though, he could be pleased that there was a fight, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they stood up for him. This support may have been for show, done out of obligation or mutual survival, but in this climate, it was significant. The effort with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a risk of the most basic of requirements somehow being framed as a kind of positive.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a strategy, that their mistakes were not his fault. “In my view my teammate Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to change the mindset. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have seen a change.”

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

“We are continuing trying to solve it in the changing room,” he said. “It's clear that the [outside] speculation will not be beneficial so it is about striving to resolve it in there.”

“Personally, I feel the gaffer has been great. I myself have a strong rapport with him,” Bellingham concluded. “Following the spell of games where we tied a few, we had some really great conversations among ourselves.”

“Every situation ends in the end,” Alonso concluded, perhaps speaking as much about poor form as everything.