Xabi Alonso Walking a Thin Line at Madrid Even With Dressing Room Support.

No offensive player in Los Blancos' annals had experienced scoreless for as long as Rodrygo, but eventually he was unleashed and he had a declaration to send, performed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had not scored in almost a year and was commencing only his fifth appearance this campaign, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the advantage against Manchester City. Then he turned and charged towards the touchline to hug Xabi Alonso, the boss on the edge for whom this could prove an more significant liberation.

“This is a challenging moment for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Results are not going our way 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 come back, taking 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso noted. That can occur when you’re in a “delicate” state, he added, but at least Madrid had fought back. This time, they could not complete a comeback. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played 11 minutes all season, rattled the crossbar in the final seconds.

A Suspended Judgment

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo said. The issue was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to retain 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 felt privately. “We demonstrated that we’re behind the manager: we have played well, given 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the final decision was withheld, any action suspended, with games against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A More Credible Type of Setback

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second occasion 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, as opposed to a domestic opponent. Simplified, they had shown fight, the easiest and most damning charge not aimed at them this time. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a spot-kick, nearly salvaging something at the final whistle. There were “a lot of very good things” about this performance, the manager stated, and there could be “no blame” of his players, tonight.

The Stadium's Ambivalent Response

That was not always the case. There were spells in the latter period, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had voiced its disapproval. At full time, a section of supporters had repeated that, although there was likewise pockets of appreciation. But primarily, there was a quiet procession to the subway. “We understand that, we understand it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso added: “This is nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were moments when they cheered too.”

Player Unity Stands Strong

“I have the support of the players,” Alonso said. And if he supported them, they supported him too, at least for the public. There has been a unification, talks: the coach had considered them, arguably more than they had embraced him, meeting a point not precisely in the middle.

The longevity of a fix that is is still an open question. One little incident in the after-game press conference felt notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to follow his own path, Alonso had permitted that idea to hang there, responding: “I share a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he understands what he is talking about.”

A Foundation of Fight

Crucially though, he could be pleased that there was a resistance, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they defended him. Some of this may have been for show, done out of duty or self-preservation, but in this context, it was important. The commitment with which they played had been too – even if there is a danger of the most basic of requirements somehow being promoted as a type of positive.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a plan, that their mistakes were not his responsibility. “I think my colleague Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The only way is [for] the players to improve the attitude. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have witnessed a shift.”

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

“We are continuing striving to work it out in the dressing room,” he elaborated. “We know that the [outside] speculation will not be productive so it is about striving to fix it in there.”

“I think the coach has been excellent. I personally have a excellent relationship with him,” Bellingham concluded. “Following the run of games where we drew a few, we had some honest conversations internally.”

“Every situation ends in the end,” Alonso philosophized, maybe speaking as much about poor form as his own predicament.