Alonso Treading a Precarious Line at Real Madrid Amidst Player Backing.

No attacker in Los Blancos' record books had experienced without a goal for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but at last he was unleashed and he had a statement to send, acted out for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had been goalless in an extended drought and was beginning only his fifth match this season, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the opening goal against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he turned and ran towards the sideline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the boss in the spotlight for whom this could prove an profound liberation.

“This is a difficult time for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Things aren't working out and I sought to show people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the lead had been lost, another loss taking its place. City had turned it around, taking 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso observed. That can occur when you’re in a “sensitive” situation, he added, but at least Madrid had reacted. On this occasion, they could not complete a turnaround. Endrick, brought on having played a handful of minutes all season, rattled the bar in the final seconds.

A Suspended Judgment

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo admitted. The dilemma was whether it would be enough for Alonso to keep his job. “We didn't view it as [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, 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 manager: we have performed creditably, provided 100%,” Courtois added. And so the final decision was withheld, sentencing suspended, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Different Form of Defeat

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second match in four days, extending their poor form to just two victories in eight, but this felt a somewhat distinct. This was a European powerhouse, not a lesser opponent. Streamlined, they had shown fight, the most obvious and most critical accusation not directed at them in this instance. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a spot-kick, coming close to securing something at the final whistle. There were “a lot of very good things” about this showing, the boss said, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, not this time.

The Bernabéu's Ambivalent Response

That was not entirely the complete picture. There were periods in the second half, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the final whistle, a section of supporters had repeated that, although there was also pockets of appreciation. But mostly, there was a muted flow to the subway. “We understand that, we understand it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso added: “This is nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were moments when they clapped too.”

Squad Unity Stands Evident

“I sense the support of the players,” Alonso said. And if he stood by them, they backed him too, at least for the media. There has been a rapprochement, talks: the coach had listened to them, arguably more than they had embraced him, meeting a point not precisely in the middle.

How lasting a remedy that is continues to be an unresolved issue. One small incident in the post-match press conference appeared notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to do things his way, Alonso had permitted that notion to remain unanswered, responding: “I have a good rapport with Pep, we understand each other well and he understands what he is implying.”

A Basis of Resistance

Crucially though, he could be satisfied that there was a spirit, a response. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they publicly backed him. This support may have been performative, done out of professionalism or self-preservation, but in this tense environment, it was meaningful. The effort with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a risk of the most elementary of standards somehow being elevated as a form of positive.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a plan, that their shortcomings were not his fault. “I think my teammate Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The key is [for] the players to alter the approach. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have witnessed a change.”

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

“We persist in trying to work it out in the locker room,” he elaborated. “We understand that the [outside] speculation will not be helpful so it is about trying to sort it out in there.”

“I think the coach has been superb. I individually 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.”

“All things ends in the end,” Alonso philosophized, perhaps speaking as much about adversity as anything else.