Manager Alonso Walking a Precarious Tightrope at Real Madrid Amidst Squad Endorsement.

No offensive player in Los Blancos' history had experienced without a goal for as long as Rodrygo, but finally he was released and he had a declaration to send, acted out for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in an extended drought and was commencing only his fifth appearance this campaign, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the lead against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he spun and charged towards the touchline to hug Xabi Alonso, the coach in the spotlight for whom this could signal an even greater release.

“It’s a challenging period for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Performances aren’t coming off and I wanted to show people that we are united with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the advantage had been lost, another loss following. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso observed. That can happen when you’re in a “sensitive” situation, he added, but at least Madrid had fought back. On this occasion, they could not engineer a comeback. Endrick, on as a substitute having played a handful of minutes all season, struck the woodwork in the final seconds.

A Suspended Sentence

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo conceded. The question was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to keep his job. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was felt privately. “We demonstrated that we’re with the coach: we have performed creditably, offered 100%,” Courtois added. And so the axe was postponed, any action delayed, with games against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A More Credible Form of Setback

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second time in four days, extending their poor form to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this was a more respectable. This was Manchester City, as opposed to a La Liga opponent. Streamlined, they had actually run, the most obvious and most damning criticism not aimed at them on this night. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a penalty, nearly earning something at the end. There were “many of very good things” about this performance, the boss argued, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, on this occasion.

The Stadium's Ambivalent Response

That was not entirely the complete picture. There were moments in the closing 45 minutes, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had voiced its disapproval. At the final whistle, a section of supporters had continued, although there was also some applause. But mostly, there was a muted flow to the doors. “That’s normal, we understand it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso added: “This is nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were instances when they clapped too.”

Squad Support Is Firm

“I have the support of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he backed them, they backed him too, at least for the media. There has been a rapprochement, talks: the coach had listened to them, maybe more than they had accommodated him, meeting a point not precisely in the center.

The longevity of a solution that is continues to be an unresolved issue. One little moment in the post-match press conference felt notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to follow his own path, Alonso had let that implication to remain unanswered, responding: “I have a good relationship with Pep, we know each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Foundation of Reaction

Most importantly though, he could be satisfied that there was a resistance, a response. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they publicly backed him. Some of this may have been theatrical, done out of duty or self-interest, but in this climate, it was important. The commitment with which they played had been too – even if there is a risk of the most elementary of standards somehow being elevated as a type of success.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a strategy, that their shortcomings were not his fault. “I believe my teammate Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The only way is [for] the players to change the attitude. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have witnessed a difference.”

Jude Bellingham, questioned if they were with the coach, also answered in numbers: “100%.”

“We’re still trying to solve it in the dressing room,” he continued. “We know that the [outside] speculation will not be productive so it is about attempting to resolve it in there.”

“Personally, I feel the gaffer has been excellent. I individually have a great relationship with him,” Bellingham concluded. “After the run of games where we drew a few, we had some honest conversations behind the scenes.”

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