Alonso Walking a Precarious Line at Real Madrid Amidst Squad Endorsement.

No attacker in the club's history had experienced scoreless for as long as Rodrygo, but finally he was freed and he had a statement to broadcast, executed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in an extended drought and was starting only his fifth appearance this campaign, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the advantage against the English champions. Then he turned and ran towards the sideline to greet Xabi Alonso, the boss under pressure for whom this could signal an profound release.

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

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the lead had been surrendered, a defeat taking its place. City had turned it around, going 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso observed. That can occur when you’re in a “fragile” situation, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had reacted. This time, they could not engineer a turnaround. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played 11 minutes all season, hit the bar in the closing stages.

A Delayed Verdict

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo said. The dilemma was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to keep his position. “We didn't view it as [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “Our performance proved that we’re behind the coach: we have played well, offered 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the axe was postponed, sentencing delayed, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A Distinct Type of Setback

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second occasion in four days, extending their poor form to two wins in eight, but this felt a more respectable. This was Manchester City, as opposed to a lesser opponent. Stripped down, they had shown fight, the simplest and most critical criticism not aimed at them this time. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a converted penalty, almost salvaging something at the final whistle. There were “a lot of very good things” about this display, the head coach argued, and there could be “no blame” of his players, on this occasion.

The Bernabéu's Mixed Response

That was not completely the case. There were spells in the closing 45 minutes, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the final whistle, a portion of supporters had done so again, although there was in addition pockets of appreciation. But mostly, there was a muted procession to the exits. “We understand that, we accept it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso stated: “It’s nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were moments when they cheered too.”

Dressing Room Unity Is Firm

“I have the backing of the players,” Alonso said. And if he backed them, they supported him too, at least in front of the cameras. There has been a unification, discussions: the coach had listened to them, perhaps more than they had embraced him, finding common ground not exactly in the center.

Whether durable a remedy that is continues to be an unresolved issue. One seemingly minor moment in the after-game press conference seemed telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to do things his way, Alonso had allowed that notion to hang there, replying: “I share a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Basis of Reaction

Crucially though, he could be content that there was a spirit, a response. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they publicly backed him. This support may have been theatrical, done out of obligation or self-preservation, but in this context, it was meaningful. The effort with which they played had been too – even if there is a temptation of the most basic of requirements somehow being promoted as a type of achievement.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a strategy, that their mistakes were not his doing. “I believe my teammate Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The sole solution is [for] the players to change the mindset. The attitude is the key thing and today we have witnessed a difference.”

Jude Bellingham, questioned if they were behind the coach, also responded quantitatively: “100%.”

“We’re still attempting to work it out in the changing room,” he elaborated. “We understand that the [outside] noise will not be beneficial so it is about striving to fix it in there.”

“In my opinion the gaffer has been excellent. I myself have a great connection with him,” Bellingham concluded. “After the sequence of games where we drew a few, we had some really great conversations among ourselves.”

“Every situation ends in the end,” Alonso philosophized, perhaps talking as much about adversity as his own predicament.