Alonso Treading a Fine Line at the Bernabéu Despite Squad Support.

No forward in the club's annals had endured scoreless for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but at last he was unleashed and he had a declaration to send, acted out for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had been goalless in an extended drought and was starting only his fifth appearance this campaign, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the lead against the English champions. Then he wheeled and sprinted towards the sideline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the manager in the spotlight for whom this could signal an even greater liberation.

“This is a tough time for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Results aren’t coming off and I wanted to show the public that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the lead had been lost, a defeat taking its place. City had reversed the score, going 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso noted. That can occur when you’re in a “fragile” condition, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had reacted. Ultimately, they could not pull off a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played very little all season, rattled the bar in the dying moments.

A Suspended Sentence

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo conceded. The dilemma was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to hold onto his position. “That wasn't our perception [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. “We demonstrated that we’re behind the manager: we have given a good account, offered 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so the axe was postponed, any action suspended, with games against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A Distinct Type of Loss

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second match in four days, continuing their poor form to just two victories in eight, but this was a somewhat distinct. This was a European powerhouse, not a lesser opponent. Streamlined, they had actually run, the most obvious and most damning accusation not directed at them on this night. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a converted penalty, coming close to earning something at the end. There were “a lot of very good things” about this performance, the head coach said, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, on this occasion.

The Fans' Ambivalent Response

That was not always the case. There were moments in the second half, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At full time, some of supporters had done so again, although there was also sporadic clapping. But primarily, there was a muted procession to the doors. “It's to be expected, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso stated: “There's nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were instances when they clapped too.”

Squad Backing Remains Firm

“I feel the confidence of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he stood by them, they backed him too, at least for the media. There has been a coming together, talks: the coach had accommodated them, arguably more than they had adapted to him, finding common ground not exactly in the middle.

The longevity of a fix that is continues to be an unresolved issue. One small incident in the post-match press conference appeared telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to stick to his principles, Alonso had let that notion to linger, responding: “I have a good rapport with Pep, we know each other well and he is aware of what he is talking about.”

A Foundation of Fight

Most importantly though, he could be content that there was a resistance, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they stood up for him. Some of this may have been performative, done out of professionalism or self-preservation, but in this context, it was meaningful. The effort with which they played had been as well – even if there is a danger of the most fundamental of expectations somehow being framed as a type of positive.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a vision, that their failings were not his doing. “I believe my colleague Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The key is [for] the players to change the attitude. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have seen a shift.”

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

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

“In my opinion the gaffer has been excellent. I individually have a strong rapport with him,” Bellingham concluded. “After the run of games where we tied a few, we had some really great conversations behind the scenes.”

“Everything concludes in the end,” Alonso philosophized, maybe talking as much about a difficult spell as everything.