Xabi Alonso Treading a Fine Line at the Bernabéu Even With Squad Backing.

No attacker in Los Blancos' record books had gone scoreless for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but eventually he was freed and he had a message to send, performed for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in an extended drought and was commencing only his fifth match this term, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the lead against the English champions. Then he turned and sprinted towards the bench to hug Xabi Alonso, the boss on the edge for whom this could signal an even greater liberation.

“This is a difficult period for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Performances aren’t coming off and I sought to show the public that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the lead had been taken from them, another loss ensuing. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso noted. That can transpire when you’re in a “delicate” situation, he added, but at least Madrid had fought back. On this occasion, they could not engineer a recovery. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played a handful of minutes all season, rattled the crossbar in the dying moments.

A Suspended Judgment

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo conceded. The dilemma was whether it would be enough for Alonso to keep his job. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was felt privately. “We have shown that we’re supporting the manager: we have given a good account, offered 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the axe was reserved, 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 occasion in four days, perpetuating their poor form to just two victories in eight, but this seemed a more respectable. This was Manchester City, rather than a lesser opponent. Streamlined, they had competed with intensity, the most obvious and most harsh criticism not aimed at them on this night. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a spot-kick, nearly earning something at the final whistle. There were “many of very good things” about this performance, the head coach said, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, tonight.

The Stadium's Muted Reaction

That was not entirely the complete picture. There were periods in the latter period, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At full time, a section of supporters had done so again, although there was also some applause. But mostly, there was a quiet procession to the subway. “We understand that, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso remarked: “There's nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were times when they clapped too.”

Player Support Is Evident

“I sense the confidence of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he backed them, they supported him too, at least in front of the public. There has been a unification, discussions: the coach had listened to them, perhaps more than they had embraced him, finding somewhere not quite in the compromise.

Whether durable a remedy that is is still an open question. One small exchange in the post-match press conference seemed telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to stick to his principles, Alonso had permitted that notion to remain unanswered, responding: “I have a good relationship with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Starting Point of Fight

Most importantly though, he could be satisfied that there was a spirit, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they defended him. Some of this may have been for show, done out of duty or mutual survival, but in this context, it was important. The effort with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a risk of the most fundamental of requirements somehow being promoted as a type of achievement.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a vision, that their mistakes were not his responsibility. “I believe my colleague Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The sole solution is [for] the players to improve the mindset. The attitude is the key thing and today we have witnessed a change.”

Jude Bellingham, pressed if they were supporting the coach, also responded in numbers: “100%.”

“We are continuing attempting to solve it in the changing room,” he elaborated. “It's clear that the [outside] chatter will not be productive so it is about striving to resolve it in there.”

“Personally, I feel the manager has been excellent. I individually have a strong connection with him,” Bellingham concluded. “Following the sequence of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations behind the scenes.”

“Everything ends in the end,” Alonso mused, perhaps speaking as much about adversity as his own predicament.