Manager Alonso Navigating a Precarious Line at Madrid Amidst Dressing Room Support.

No attacker in Los Blancos' history had endured without a goal for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but at last he was released and he had a declaration to deliver, performed for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in almost a year and was starting only his fifth appearance this term, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the lead against the English champions. Then he wheeled and sprinted towards the sideline to greet Xabi Alonso, the boss under pressure for whom this could prove an profound liberation.

“This is a challenging time for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Performances aren’t coming off and I wanted to demonstrate the public that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been lost, a defeat following. City had reversed the score, going 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso observed. That can happen when you’re in a “delicate” situation, he added, but at least Madrid had responded. Ultimately, they could not complete a recovery. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played a handful of minutes all season, struck the woodwork in the closing stages.

A Delayed Judgment

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo conceded. The question was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to hold onto his job. “We didn't view it as [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 perceived internally. “Our performance proved that we’re supporting the manager: we have given a good account, provided 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so the axe was reserved, sentencing pending, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Distinct Type of Setback

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second match in four days, perpetuating their recent run to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this felt a more respectable. This was the Premier League champions, not a domestic opponent. Simplified, they had shown fight, the most obvious and most harsh criticism not directed at them this time. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a converted penalty, almost salvaging something at the death. There were “a lot 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 Reaction

That was not entirely the full story. There were moments in the second half, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the conclusion, a portion of supporters had continued, although there was likewise sporadic clapping. But for the most part, there was a muted procession to the exits. “We understand that, we accept it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso stated: “It’s nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were instances when they clapped too.”

Squad Support Is Firm

“I have the confidence of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he backed them, they supported him too, at least towards the cameras. There has been a coming together, talks: the coach had accommodated them, arguably more than they had embraced him, finding somewhere not exactly in the middle.

How lasting a remedy that is is still an matter of debate. One seemingly minor incident in the after-game press conference felt notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to stick to his principles, Alonso had permitted that idea to remain unanswered, replying: “I share a good connection with Pep, we know each other well and he knows what he is saying.”

A Foundation of Resistance

Most importantly though, he could be content that there was a spirit, a response. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they defended him. This support may have been performative, done out of professionalism or mutual survival, but in this climate, it was meaningful. The commitment with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a temptation of the most elementary of standards somehow being elevated as a kind of achievement.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a plan, that their failings were not his fault. “I think my colleague Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The sole solution is [for] the players to alter the approach. The attitude is the key thing and today we have observed a difference.”

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

“We persist in attempting to solve it in the changing room,” he said. “It's clear that the [outside] noise will not be productive so it is about striving to fix it in there.”

“I think the coach has been great. I personally have a strong rapport with him,” Bellingham stated. “Following the run of games where we tied a few, we had some very productive conversations internally.”

“All things ends in the end,” Alonso concluded, perhaps speaking as much about a difficult spell as his own predicament.