Alonso Treading a Thin Path at the Bernabéu Even With Player Backing.

No offensive player in the club's annals had endured failing to find the net for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but finally he was unleashed and he had a declaration to broadcast, performed for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in an extended drought and was starting only his fifth match this season, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the advantage against Manchester City. Then he wheeled and charged towards the bench to greet Xabi Alonso, the coach in the spotlight for whom this could signal an even greater release.

“It’s a difficult period for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Results are not going our way and I wanted to show the public that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the lead had been surrendered, a defeat taking its place. City had turned it around, taking 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso remarked. That can transpire when you’re in a “sensitive” state, he continued, but at least Madrid had responded. This time, they could not engineer a comeback. Endrick, on as a substitute having played very little all season, rattled the woodwork in the closing stages.

A Reserved Judgment

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo said. The question was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to retain his role. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was perceived internally. “Our performance proved that we’re supporting the coach: we have given a good account, offered 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the final decision was withheld, sentencing delayed, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Distinct Type of Defeat

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second match in four days, extending their poor form to just two victories in eight, but this felt a little different. This was Manchester City, not a lesser opponent. Simplified, they had actually run, the simplest and most damning charge not aimed at them this time. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a spot-kick, nearly earning something at the final whistle. There were “numerous of very good things” about this display, the manager said, and there could be “no blame” of his players, tonight.

The Stadium's Muted Reaction

That was not always the full story. There were spells in the closing 45 minutes, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At full time, a section of supporters had repeated that, although there was likewise pockets of appreciation. But for the most part, there was a quiet procession to the doors. “That’s normal, we understand it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso remarked: “There's nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were times when they cheered too.”

Squad Backing Stands Evident

“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 coming together, discussions: the coach had listened to them, arguably more than they had embraced him, finding common ground not quite in the middle.

Whether durable a remedy that is remains an matter of debate. One little moment in the post-match press conference appeared notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to follow his own path, Alonso had permitted that implication to linger, responding: “I share a good relationship with Pep, we understand each other well and he understands what he is saying.”

A Foundation of Resistance

Most importantly though, he could be satisfied that there was a spirit, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they publicly backed him. Some of this may have been theatrical, done out of professionalism or mutual survival, but in this climate, it was significant. The effort with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a danger of the most basic of requirements somehow being elevated as a type of success.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a strategy, that their mistakes were not his responsibility. “In my view my colleague 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 witnessed a shift.”

Jude Bellingham, pressed if they were behind the coach, also answered with a figure: “100%.”

“We are continuing attempting to figure it out in the locker room,” he continued. “We know that the [outside] chatter will not be productive so it is about attempting to sort it out in there.”

“I think the manager has been superb. I individually have a strong relationship with him,” Bellingham concluded. “After the sequence of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations internally.”

“All things concludes in the end,” Alonso mused, possibly talking as much about adversity as his own predicament.