Xabi Alonso Walking a Fine Tightrope at Real Madrid Amidst Squad Backing.

No attacker in the club's annals had gone without a goal for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but eventually he was released and he had a statement to send, acted out for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in an extended drought and was starting only his fifth appearance this term, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the opening goal against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he turned and ran towards the bench to hug Xabi Alonso, the coach on the edge for whom this could represent an more significant liberation.

“This is a tough time for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Results aren't working out and I aimed to demonstrate people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the lead had been surrendered, a defeat ensuing. City had come back, taking 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso remarked. That can transpire when you’re in a “fragile” situation, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had responded. Ultimately, they could not pull off a turnaround. Endrick, on as a substitute having played a handful of minutes all season, rattled the crossbar in the final seconds.

A Reserved Sentence

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo conceded. The dilemma was whether it would be enough for Alonso to keep 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 understood behind closed doors. “We demonstrated that we’re supporting the manager: we have played well, given 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so judgment was reserved, sentencing pending, with games against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A Distinct Form of Setback

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second time in four days, continuing their recent run to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this seemed a more respectable. This was a European powerhouse, as opposed to a domestic opponent. Streamlined, they had competed with intensity, the simplest and most harsh charge not directed at them in this instance. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a converted penalty, almost securing something at the final whistle. There were “numerous of very good things” about this showing, the manager said, and there could be “no blame” of his players, not this time.

The Bernabéu's Mixed Reaction

That was not completely the complete picture. There were spells in the closing 45 minutes, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the conclusion, a portion of supporters had continued, although there was also sporadic clapping. But primarily, there was a muted stream to the exits. “It's to be expected, we understand it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso added: “There's nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were times when they cheered too.”

Player Unity Remains Evident

“I feel the confidence of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he backed them, they stood by him too, at least in front of the public. There has been a coming together, conversations: the coach had listened to them, arguably more than they had embraced him, finding common ground not exactly in the center.

Whether durable a fix that is remains an open question. One little exchange in the after-game press conference seemed significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to do things his way, Alonso had permitted that idea to hang there, responding: “I share a good connection with Pep, we know each other well and he is aware of what he is implying.”

A Foundation of Fight

Crucially though, he could be pleased that there was a fight, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they defended him. Part of it may have been for show, done out of obligation or self-interest, but in this tense environment, it was important. The intensity with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a risk of the most basic of standards somehow being framed as a form of positive.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a strategy, that their shortcomings were not his responsibility. “In my view my teammate Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The key is [for] the players to improve the mindset. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have witnessed a shift.”

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

“We’re still trying to work it out in the changing room,” he said. “We know that the [outside] chatter will not be helpful so it is about striving to sort it out in there.”

“Personally, I feel the manager has been great. I individually have a strong relationship with him,” Bellingham stated. “After the sequence of games where we tied a few, we had some honest conversations behind the scenes.”

“Everything passes in the end,” Alonso concluded, maybe talking as much about poor form as everything.