Manager Alonso Treading a Precarious Tightrope at Real Madrid Despite Player Support.

No forward in the club's annals had experienced scoreless for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but finally he was unleashed and he had a declaration to send, executed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in an extended drought and was starting only his fifth game this campaign, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the advantage against the English champions. Then he wheeled and charged towards the touchline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the manager in the spotlight for whom this could signal an even greater release.

“It’s a tough moment for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Things aren’t coming off and I aimed to demonstrate the public that we are united with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the advantage had been surrendered, a setback taking its place. City had turned it around, going 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso remarked. That can transpire when you’re in a “fragile” condition, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had reacted. This time, they could not pull off a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played 11 minutes all season, hit the woodwork in the closing stages.

A Delayed Judgment

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo conceded. The question was whether it would be enough for Alonso to retain his position. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “Our performance proved that we’re supporting the coach: we have played well, offered 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the axe was postponed, sentencing delayed, with games against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A More Credible Type of Defeat

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second occasion in four days, extending their uninspiring streak to just two victories in eight, but this seemed a little different. This was the Premier League champions, not a La Liga opponent. Streamlined, they had actually run, the simplest and most critical criticism not levelled at them in this instance. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a penalty, nearly salvaging something at the end. There were “many of very good things” about this display, the head coach stated, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, not this time.

The Stadium's Muted Response

That was not completely the full story. There were spells in the second half, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the conclusion, some of supporters had repeated that, although there was also some applause. But mostly, there was a subdued flow to the doors. “We understand that, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso remarked: “There's nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were times when they cheered too.”

Player Support Stands Evident

“I have the support of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he stood by them, they supported him too, at least for the cameras. There has been a rapprochement, discussions: the coach had accommodated them, perhaps more than they had adapted to him, reaching somewhere not quite in the middle.

Whether durable a remedy that is is still an open question. One little incident in the after-game press conference appeared significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to follow his own path, Alonso had let that idea to hang there, responding: “I have a good rapport with Pep, we know each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Foundation of Reaction

Above all though, he could be satisfied that there was a spirit, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they publicly backed him. Part of it may have been for show, done out of duty or self-preservation, but in this climate, it was meaningful. The commitment with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a temptation of the most fundamental of requirements somehow being elevated as a kind of success.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a strategy, that their failings were not his responsibility. “I think my teammate Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The only way is [for] the players to alter the attitude. The attitude is the key thing and today we have seen a change.”

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

“We are continuing striving to figure it out in the locker room,” he elaborated. “We know that the [outside] chatter will not be productive so it is about striving to fix it in there.”

“Personally, I feel the coach has been excellent. I personally have a strong connection with him,” Bellingham stated. “After the run of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations among ourselves.”

“Everything ends in the end,” Alonso mused, maybe referring as much about a difficult spell as his own predicament.