Manager Alonso Treading a Precarious Tightrope at Real Madrid Even With Dressing Room Endorsement.

No forward in the club's record books had endured scoreless for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but finally he was unleashed and he had a declaration to send, acted out for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in an extended drought and was beginning only his fifth game this term, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the opening goal against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he wheeled and charged towards the bench to greet Xabi Alonso, the coach on the edge for whom this could represent an profound relief.

“This is a challenging period for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Things are not going our way and I sought to show the public that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the advantage had been taken from them, a defeat following. City had reversed the score, going 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso noted. That can occur when you’re in a “delicate” condition, he added, but at least Madrid had responded. Ultimately, they could not complete a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played 11 minutes all season, struck the crossbar in the final seconds.

A Suspended Verdict

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo admitted. The dilemma 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 stated, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We have shown that we’re behind the coach: we have played well, given 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the axe was reserved, any action pending, with games against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A More Credible Type of Defeat

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, as opposed to a lesser opponent. Stripped down, they had shown fight, the easiest and most damning charge not directed at them in this instance. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a spot-kick, nearly earning something at the death. There were “a lot of very good things” about this performance, the head coach stated, and there could be “no blame” of his players, tonight.

The Stadium's Mixed Response

That was not always the full story. There were spells in the second half, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the final whistle, a section of supporters had continued, although there was likewise sporadic clapping. But mostly, there was a quiet procession to the exits. “That’s normal, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso remarked: “This is nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were moments when they clapped too.”

Player Unity Stands Firm

“I have the backing of the players,” Alonso said. And if he stood by them, they supported him too, at least in front of the public. There has been a rapprochement, talks: the coach had considered them, arguably more than they had embraced him, finding somewhere not quite in the compromise.

Whether durable a fix that is continues to be an unresolved issue. One small exchange in the post-match press conference felt significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to do things his way, Alonso had allowed that implication to hang there, replying: “I share a good relationship with Pep, we understand each other well and he understands what he is implying.”

A Starting Point of Reaction

Above all though, he could be pleased that there was a fight, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they defended him. Some of this may have been theatrical, done out of obligation or mutual survival, but in this tense environment, it was important. The intensity with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a risk of the most fundamental of requirements somehow being promoted as a type of achievement.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a plan, that their mistakes were not his doing. “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 improve the attitude. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have observed a shift.”

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

“We persist in striving to figure it out in the changing room,” he continued. “We know that the [outside] speculation will not be productive so it is about trying to sort it out in there.”

“In my opinion the gaffer has been superb. I myself have a great connection with him,” Bellingham stated. “After the sequence of games where we tied a few, we had some very productive conversations among ourselves.”

“Every situation ends in the end,” Alonso concluded, perhaps referring as much about adversity as anything else.