Alonso Treading a Thin Path at the Bernabéu Despite Dressing Room Endorsement.

No offensive player in the club's history had gone scoreless for as long as Rodrygo, but finally he was unleashed and he had a message to deliver, performed for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in an extended drought and was starting only his fifth match this campaign, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the lead against Manchester City. Then he spun and ran towards the touchline to hug Xabi Alonso, the boss under pressure for whom this could signal an even greater release.

“It’s a difficult period for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Results aren't working out and I wanted to show everyone that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the lead had been surrendered, another loss taking its place. City had turned it around, taking 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso observed. That can transpire when you’re in a “fragile” condition, he added, but at least Madrid had reacted. Ultimately, they could not complete a recovery. Endrick, on as a substitute having played very little all season, rattled the bar in the dying moments.

A Suspended Verdict

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo conceded. The dilemma was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to retain his position. “We didn't view it as [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was felt privately. “Our performance proved that we’re with the manager: we have played well, given 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so judgment was reserved, any action delayed, with games against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Distinct Kind of Loss

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second match in four days, perpetuating their uninspiring streak to two wins in eight, but this seemed a more respectable. This was Manchester City, not a domestic opponent. Stripped down, they had actually run, the easiest and most harsh accusation not aimed at them on this night. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a spot-kick, almost salvaging something at the death. There were “many of very good things” about this display, the manager argued, and there could be “no blame” of his players, on this occasion.

The Bernabéu's Muted Reaction

That was not completely the full story. There were moments in the closing 45 minutes, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had voiced its disapproval. At the conclusion, a section of supporters had done so again, although there was also sporadic clapping. But primarily, there was a quiet procession to the doors. “It's to be expected, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso added: “This is nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were instances when they clapped too.”

Squad Support Is Evident

“I feel the backing of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he supported them, they stood by him too, at least for the media. There has been a rapprochement, conversations: the coach had listened to them, maybe more than they had adapted to him, reaching a point not precisely in the middle.

How lasting a remedy that is is still an open question. One seemingly minor moment in the after-game press conference appeared telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to follow his own path, Alonso had allowed that idea to hang there, replying: “I have a good relationship with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is implying.”

A Starting Point of Reaction

Above all though, he could be satisfied that there was a spirit, a response. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they defended him. Part of it may have been theatrical, done out of obligation or self-interest, but in this tense environment, it was important. The effort with which they played had been as well – even if there is a risk of the most elementary of standards somehow being promoted as a kind of positive.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a vision, that their shortcomings were not his responsibility. “In my view my teammate Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The sole solution is [for] the players to change the approach. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have witnessed a shift.”

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

“We persist in striving to figure it out in the dressing room,” he continued. “We understand that the [outside] noise will not be beneficial so it is about attempting to resolve it in there.”

“In my opinion the coach has been excellent. I individually have a great rapport with him,” Bellingham added. “Following the spell of games where we tied a few, we had some very productive conversations internally.”

“All things ends in the end,” Alonso concluded, maybe speaking as much about poor form as everything.