Xabi Alonso Walking a Precarious Path at Madrid Despite Squad Endorsement.

No forward in Los Blancos' record books had experienced failing to find the net for as long as Rodrygo, but eventually he was unleashed and he had a statement to send, performed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had not scored in almost a year and was beginning only his fifth game this season, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the lead against the English champions. Then he wheeled and ran towards the bench to hug Xabi Alonso, the coach under pressure for whom this could represent an even greater liberation.

“This is a difficult moment for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Results aren’t coming off and I aimed to prove the public that we are united with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been lost, a setback ensuing. City had come back, taking 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso observed. That can transpire when you’re in a “fragile” condition, he continued, but at least Madrid had reacted. Ultimately, they could not engineer a comeback. Endrick, on as a substitute having played very little all season, hit the bar in the closing stages.

A Reserved Verdict

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo conceded. The question was whether it would be enough for Alonso to retain his role. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was perceived internally. “We demonstrated that we’re with the manager: we have given a good account, given 100%,” Courtois added. And so judgment was withheld, sentencing delayed, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Different Type of Defeat

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second occasion in four days, perpetuating their poor form to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this seemed a little different. This was the Premier League champions, not a lesser opponent. Stripped down, they had competed with intensity, the most obvious and most critical accusation not directed at them this time. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a converted penalty, coming close to earning something at the end. There were “many of very good things” about this display, the head coach argued, and there could be “no blame” of his players, on this occasion.

The Fans' Mixed Reception

That was not always the case. There were spells in the latter period, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At full time, a portion of supporters had continued, although there was in addition some applause. But mostly, there was a muted flow to the doors. “That’s normal, we accept it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso added: “It’s nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were moments when they applauded too.”

Squad Support Stands Evident

“I feel 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 unification, conversations: the coach had accommodated them, perhaps more than they had accommodated him, reaching a point not precisely in the center.

How lasting a remedy that is continues to be an unresolved issue. One small moment in the post-match press conference felt notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to stick to his principles, Alonso had let that implication to remain unanswered, responding: “I have a good relationship with Pep, we understand each other well and he understands what he is implying.”

A Starting Point of Fight

Crucially though, he could be pleased that there was a resistance, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they stood up for him. Part of it may have been performative, done out of duty or self-preservation, but in this climate, it was meaningful. The commitment with which they played had been as well – even if there is a risk of the most fundamental of standards somehow being promoted as a type of positive.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a plan, that their mistakes were not his doing. “I believe my teammate Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to alter the attitude. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have seen a difference.”

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

“We are continuing attempting to figure it out in the changing room,” he elaborated. “We understand that the [outside] chatter will not be helpful so it is about trying to fix it in there.”

“I think the manager has been great. I personally have a strong relationship with him,” Bellingham added. “After the run of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations internally.”

“All things concludes in the end,” Alonso philosophized, maybe speaking as much about adversity as everything.