Manager Alonso Treading a Precarious Path at Real Madrid Amidst Squad Backing.

No offensive player in the club's history had gone failing to find the net for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but eventually he was unleashed and he had a declaration to broadcast, acted out for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had not scored in almost a year and was commencing only his fifth appearance this campaign, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the lead against the English champions. Then he spun and ran towards the sideline to hug Xabi Alonso, the manager in the spotlight for whom this could prove an even greater release.

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

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been surrendered, another loss ensuing. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso observed. That can transpire when you’re in a “delicate” situation, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had reacted. On this occasion, they could not engineer a comeback. Endrick, brought on having played very little all season, rattled the crossbar in the closing stages.

A Suspended Sentence

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo conceded. The issue was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to keep his position. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was felt privately. “Our performance proved that we’re supporting the coach: we have played well, offered 100%,” Courtois added. And so judgment was postponed, any action suspended, with games against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A Distinct Kind of Loss

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second occasion in four days, extending their uninspiring streak to just two victories in eight, but this was a somewhat distinct. This was a European powerhouse, rather than a domestic opponent. Streamlined, they had shown fight, the most obvious and most critical criticism not directed at them in this instance. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a converted penalty, nearly securing something at the death. There were “numerous of very good things” about this display, the manager stated, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, on this occasion.

The Bernabéu's Ambivalent Reception

That was not always the full story. There were periods in the second half, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had voiced its disapproval. At full time, some of supporters had continued, although there was in addition some applause. But primarily, there was a subdued flow to the subway. “We understand that, we understand it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso added: “There's nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were moments when they applauded too.”

Squad Unity Stands Firm

“I have the backing of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he supported them, they supported him too, at least for the media. There has been a unification, conversations: the coach had considered them, perhaps more than they had adapted to him, meeting a point not precisely in the middle.

Whether durable a solution that is is still an matter of debate. One little incident in the after-game press conference seemed telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to do things his way, Alonso had allowed that idea to hang there, answering: “I share a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Basis of Resistance

Crucially though, he could be pleased that there was a fight, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they publicly backed him. This support may have been for show, done out of obligation or self-preservation, but in this context, it was meaningful. The intensity with which they played had been too – even if there is a risk of the most basic of standards somehow being promoted as a kind of success.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a vision, 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 change the attitude. The attitude is the key thing and today we have witnessed a change.”

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

“We are continuing striving to work it out in the locker room,” he continued. “We know that the [outside] noise will not be beneficial so it is about attempting to fix it in there.”

“I think the manager has been superb. I personally have a strong rapport with him,” Bellingham added. “Following the spell of games where we tied a few, we had some very productive conversations behind the scenes.”

“Everything ends in the end,” Alonso philosophized, maybe referring as much about poor form as anything else.