Xabi Alonso Treading a Fine Line at Madrid Despite Dressing Room Support.

No attacker in Los Blancos' history had experienced failing to find the net for as long as Rodrygo, but at last he was freed and he had a declaration to broadcast, acted out for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in nine months and was starting only his fifth match this campaign, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the advantage against the English champions. Then he spun and ran towards the touchline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the coach under pressure for whom this could signal an profound relief.

“It’s a difficult time for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Things aren't working out and I wanted to prove people that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the advantage had been taken from them, a defeat ensuing. City had come back, taking 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso observed. That can happen when you’re in a “sensitive” situation, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had reacted. This time, they could not complete a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played 11 minutes all season, hit the bar in the final seconds.

A Delayed Judgment

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo conceded. The dilemma was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to keep his role. “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 coach: we have given a good account, given 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the axe was reserved, sentencing delayed, with games against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Different Form of Defeat

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second time in four days, perpetuating their recent run to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this seemed a little different. This was the Premier League champions, rather than a domestic opponent. Streamlined, they had competed with intensity, the easiest and most damning charge not levelled at them in this instance. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a penalty, almost earning something at the death. There were “numerous of very good things” about this performance, the manager stated, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, on this occasion.

The Bernabéu's Ambivalent Reception

That was not completely the case. There were spells in the latter period, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the final whistle, some of supporters had continued, although there was also some applause. But primarily, there was a subdued procession to the exits. “That’s normal, we accept it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso remarked: “It’s nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were times when they cheered too.”

Squad Backing Stands Evident

“I have the confidence of the players,” Alonso said. And if he supported them, they backed him too, at least in front of the public. There has been a coming together, talks: the coach had accommodated them, perhaps more than they had adapted to him, finding common ground not quite in the center.

How lasting a solution that is remains an open question. One seemingly minor incident in the post-match press conference felt telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to do things his way, Alonso had allowed that implication to remain unanswered, replying: “I share a good rapport with Pep, we understand each other well and he understands what he is saying.”

A Starting Point of Reaction

Most importantly though, he could be satisfied that there was a fight, a reaction. 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 professionalism or self-preservation, but in this tense environment, it was important. The commitment with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a risk of the most fundamental of expectations somehow being framed as a type of success.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a strategy, that their shortcomings were not his fault. “In my view my colleague Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The sole solution is [for] the players to alter the approach. The attitude is the key thing and today we have witnessed a shift.”

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

“We’re still attempting to solve it in the dressing room,” he said. “It's clear that the [outside] speculation will not be beneficial so it is about striving to fix it in there.”

“I think the coach has been great. I individually have a strong relationship with him,” Bellingham added. “After the sequence of games where we tied a few, we had some honest conversations internally.”

“Everything ends in the end,” Alonso mused, possibly talking as much about poor form as his own predicament.