Xabi Alonso Treading a Thin Path at the Bernabéu Amidst Player Backing.

No offensive player in the club's record books had gone without a goal for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but eventually he was unleashed and he had a message to deliver, performed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had been goalless in an extended drought and was starting only his fifth match this campaign, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the advantage against the English champions. Then he turned and ran towards the bench to greet Xabi Alonso, the manager on the edge for whom this could prove an profound release.

“It’s a tough moment for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Performances aren’t coming off and I wanted to demonstrate people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the advantage had been surrendered, another loss ensuing. City had turned it around, going 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso observed. That can occur when you’re in a “fragile” situation, he continued, but at least Madrid had fought back. On this occasion, they could not engineer a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played very little all season, struck the bar in the final seconds.

A Suspended Sentence

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo said. The question was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to keep his position. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We demonstrated that we’re with the coach: we have given a good account, offered 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so the axe was postponed, any action delayed, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A More Credible Type of Defeat

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second time in four days, continuing their poor form to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this was a somewhat distinct. This was Manchester City, as opposed to a La Liga opponent. Simplified, they had actually run, the simplest and most damning criticism not aimed at them on this night. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a converted penalty, coming close to securing something at the final whistle. There were “many of very good things” about this display, the boss said, and there could be “no blame” of his players, tonight.

The Bernabéu's Ambivalent Reaction

That was not always the full story. There were spells in the closing 45 minutes, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At full time, a portion of supporters had repeated that, although there was likewise pockets of appreciation. But primarily, there was a muted procession to the doors. “We understand that, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso stated: “It’s nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were instances when they applauded too.”

Player Support Stands Evident

“I have the backing of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he stood by them, they backed him too, at least for the cameras. There has been a coming together, talks: the coach had considered them, arguably more than they had adapted to him, reaching somewhere not exactly in the middle.

Whether durable a fix that is continues to be an open question. One small moment in the post-match press conference seemed notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to do things his way, Alonso had let that idea to hang there, responding: “I have a good connection with Pep, we know each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Starting Point of Resistance

Most importantly though, he could be pleased 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. This support may have been performative, done out of obligation or self-preservation, but in this tense environment, it was meaningful. The intensity with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a risk of the most elementary of expectations somehow being elevated as a kind of success.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a vision, that their failings were not his responsibility. “I think my colleague Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to alter the mindset. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have seen a shift.”

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

“We’re still attempting to work it out in the locker room,” he continued. “We understand that the [outside] noise will not be beneficial so it is about trying to sort it out in there.”

“Personally, I feel the coach has been superb. I individually have a great rapport with him,” Bellingham added. “Following the sequence of games where we were held a few, we had some really great conversations internally.”

“Everything passes in the end,” Alonso concluded, possibly speaking as much about a difficult spell as anything else.