Manager Alonso Navigating a Fine Line at the Bernabéu Even With Squad Support.

No forward in the club's record books had gone failing to find the net for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but finally he was released and he had a declaration to send, performed for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in nine months and was commencing only his fifth game this campaign, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the lead against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he turned and ran towards the touchline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the coach in the spotlight for whom this could signal an even greater relief.

“It’s a challenging time for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Performances aren't working out and I sought to demonstrate everyone that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been surrendered, another loss following. City had reversed the score, going 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso noted. That can happen when you’re in a “delicate” condition, he continued, but at least Madrid had responded. Ultimately, they could not pull off a turnaround. Endrick, brought on having played a handful of minutes all season, rattled the bar in the closing stages.

A Suspended Verdict

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo admitted. The dilemma was whether it would be enough for Alonso to retain his job. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was felt privately. “Our performance proved that we’re with the manager: we have performed creditably, given 100%,” Courtois added. And so the final decision was postponed, consequences suspended, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A More Credible Type of Setback

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second time in four days, continuing their recent run to just two victories in eight, but this felt a more respectable. This was Manchester City, as opposed to a domestic opponent. Simplified, they had actually run, the easiest and most critical charge not directed at them on this night. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a spot-kick, coming close to salvaging something at the end. 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 Bernabéu's Muted Reception

That was not completely the case. There were periods in the latter period, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the final whistle, some of supporters had repeated that, although there was likewise some applause. But primarily, there was a muted stream to the doors. “That’s normal, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso remarked: “This is nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were instances when they clapped too.”

Dressing Room Backing Is Strong

“I have the support of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he supported them, they supported him too, at least in front of the media. There has been a unification, talks: the coach had accommodated them, arguably more than they had accommodated him, meeting common ground not precisely in the compromise.

The longevity of a remedy that is continues to be an matter of debate. One little incident in the after-game press conference felt telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to stick to his principles, Alonso had let that implication to linger, answering: “I share a good rapport with Pep, we know each other well and he understands what he is implying.”

A Foundation of Reaction

Above all though, he could be content that there was a spirit, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they stood up for him. Some of this may have been theatrical, done out of duty or self-preservation, but in this climate, it was meaningful. The intensity with which they played had been as well – even if there is a danger of the most elementary of standards somehow being framed as a kind of achievement.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a vision, that their failings were not his responsibility. “I think my teammate Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to alter the mindset. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have seen a change.”

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

“We are continuing trying to figure it out in the locker room,” he said. “We understand that the [outside] speculation will not be productive so it is about striving to sort it out in there.”

“In my opinion the gaffer has been excellent. I individually have a strong connection with him,” Bellingham added. “Following the spell of games where we were held a few, we had some very productive conversations among ourselves.”

“Every situation concludes in the end,” Alonso mused, possibly referring as much about adversity as anything else.