Manager Alonso Walking a Fine Line at Madrid Despite Dressing Room Support.

No attacker in Real Madrid’s record books had gone failing to find the net for as long as Rodrygo, but at last he was released and he had a statement to broadcast, executed for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in almost a year and was starting only his fifth match this campaign, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the advantage against Manchester City. Then he wheeled and charged towards the bench to embrace Xabi Alonso, the manager under pressure for whom this could signal an profound liberation.

“This is a challenging moment for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Results are not going our way and I aimed to prove everyone that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the advantage had been lost, another loss ensuing. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso remarked. That can happen when you’re in a “sensitive” condition, he added, but at least Madrid had responded. On this occasion, they could not engineer a turnaround. Endrick, brought on having played very little all season, hit the woodwork in the closing stages.

A Reserved Judgment

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo admitted. The issue was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to retain his job. “We didn't view it as [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 felt privately. “We demonstrated that we’re supporting the manager: we have played well, offered 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so the final decision was postponed, consequences suspended, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Distinct Type of Setback

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second time in four days, extending their poor form to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this seemed a more respectable. This was the Premier League champions, rather than a lesser opponent. Simplified, they had shown fight, the simplest and most critical accusation not aimed at them in this instance. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a spot-kick, nearly earning something at the final whistle. There were “many of very good things” about this performance, the manager stated, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, tonight.

The Stadium's Ambivalent Reception

That was not always the complete picture. There were periods in the second half, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had voiced its disapproval. At the conclusion, some of supporters had repeated that, although there was in addition some applause. But primarily, there was a quiet procession to the subway. “It's to be expected, we accept it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso stated: “There's nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were moments when they applauded too.”

Squad Unity Stands Strong

“I feel the backing of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he backed them, they backed 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 adapted to him, meeting a point not exactly in the middle.

The longevity of a fix that is continues to be an open question. One little moment in the after-game press conference appeared significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to do things his way, Alonso had permitted that idea to hang there, replying: “I have a good relationship with Pep, we know each other well and he is aware of what he is talking about.”

A Basis of Fight

Most importantly though, he could be content that there was a resistance, a response. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they publicly backed him. This support may have been for show, done out of duty or self-interest, but in this context, it was significant. The commitment with which they played had been as well – even if there is a risk of the most basic of standards somehow being framed as a kind of achievement.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a plan, that their mistakes were not his fault. “In my view my teammate Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to change the attitude. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have observed a change.”

Jude Bellingham, asked if they were behind the coach, also replied in numbers: “100%.”

“We’re still trying to solve it in the locker room,” he continued. “We know that the [outside] noise will not be helpful so it is about attempting to sort it out in there.”

“Personally, I feel the coach has been great. I myself have a excellent connection with him,” Bellingham concluded. “After the run of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations internally.”

“Everything ends in the end,” Alonso mused, perhaps referring as much about adversity as anything else.