Alonso Walking a Precarious Path at Madrid Despite Dressing Room Backing.

No offensive player in Real Madrid’s history had gone failing to find the net for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but at last he was freed and he had a message to deliver, executed for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in almost a year and was starting only his fifth appearance this season, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the lead against Manchester City. Then he turned and sprinted towards the sideline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the boss on the edge for whom this could prove an profound release.

“This is a difficult time for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Results are not going our way and I aimed to show people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the lead had been lost, a defeat taking its place. City had turned it around, taking 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso noted. That can occur when you’re in a “delicate” situation, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had reacted. On this occasion, they could not engineer a comeback. Endrick, on as a substitute having played 11 minutes all season, rattled the bar in the closing stages.

A Suspended Judgment

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo conceded. The issue was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to hold onto his position. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was felt privately. “Our performance proved that we’re with the coach: we have performed creditably, offered 100%,” Courtois added. And so the final decision was reserved, any action delayed, with games against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Distinct Type of Setback

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second time in four days, extending their poor form to just two victories in eight, but this was a somewhat distinct. This was the Premier League champions, as opposed to a lesser opponent. Simplified, they had shown fight, the most obvious and most damning accusation not aimed at them on this night. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a spot-kick, almost salvaging something at the final whistle. There were “numerous of very good things” about this display, the boss said, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, tonight.

The Fans' Mixed Reception

That was not always the case. There were spells in the closing 45 minutes, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had voiced its disapproval. At the conclusion, some of supporters had repeated that, although there was likewise pockets of appreciation. But for the most part, there was a muted procession to the subway. “That’s normal, we understand it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso added: “There's nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were times when they cheered too.”

Squad Backing Is Strong

“I sense the support of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he supported them, they supported him too, at least for the cameras. There has been a rapprochement, discussions: the coach had accommodated them, maybe more than they had accommodated him, meeting common ground not precisely in the compromise.

The longevity of a remedy that is is still an open question. One seemingly minor exchange in the after-game press conference seemed telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to stick to his principles, Alonso had permitted that idea to hang there, replying: “I share a good relationship with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is implying.”

A Basis of Fight

Above all though, he could be content that there was a spirit, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they stood up for him. Part of it may have been for show, done out of obligation or mutual survival, but in this context, it was meaningful. The commitment with which they played had been as well – even if there is a risk of the most fundamental of standards somehow being promoted as a kind of success.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a strategy, that their shortcomings were not his doing. “In my view my colleague Aurélien said 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 shift.”

Jude Bellingham, asked if they were behind the coach, also replied quantitatively: “100%.”

“We persist in trying to solve it in the changing room,” he said. “We know that the [outside] chatter will not be helpful so it is about trying to fix it in there.”

“I think the gaffer has been superb. I myself have a great connection with him,” Bellingham added. “After the spell of games where we tied a few, we had some honest conversations behind the scenes.”

“Every situation ends in the end,” Alonso mused, perhaps talking as much about poor form as anything else.