Alonso Treading a Thin Line at Real Madrid Even With Player Backing.

No attacker in the club's annals had experienced failing to find the net for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but eventually he was released and he had a message to broadcast, executed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had not scored in nine months and was beginning only his fifth match this term, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the lead against Manchester City. Then he turned and ran towards the sideline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the coach in the spotlight for whom this could prove an profound relief.

“This is a tough period for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Things aren’t coming off and I aimed to prove everyone that we are united with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the advantage had been surrendered, a defeat ensuing. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso remarked. That can happen when you’re in a “delicate” situation, he continued, but at least Madrid had responded. This time, they could not complete a turnaround. Endrick, brought on having played very little all season, hit the crossbar in the closing stages.

A Suspended Judgment

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo admitted. The question was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to retain his position. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was felt privately. “We have shown that we’re with the coach: we have played well, provided 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the final decision was reserved, sentencing suspended, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Different Type of Setback

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second occasion in four days, extending their poor form to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this felt a more respectable. This was the Premier League champions, rather than a La Liga opponent. Streamlined, they had actually run, the most obvious and most critical charge not levelled at them on this night. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a converted penalty, nearly earning something at the death. There were “a lot of very good things” about this performance, the manager said, and there could be “no blame” of his players, on this occasion.

The Fans' Ambivalent Reaction

That was not completely the full story. There were spells in the second half, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had voiced its disapproval. At full time, a portion of supporters had continued, although there was also some applause. But for the most part, there was a quiet flow to the exits. “We understand that, we understand it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso added: “It’s nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were moments when they cheered too.”

Squad Backing Remains Evident

“I feel the backing of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he backed them, they supported him too, at least for the media. There has been a coming together, conversations: the coach had listened to them, maybe more than they had accommodated him, reaching somewhere not exactly in the compromise.

How lasting a solution that is is still an matter of debate. One seemingly minor exchange in the after-game press conference appeared telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to do things his way, Alonso had let that idea to remain unanswered, replying: “I have a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he is aware of what he is saying.”

A Foundation of Resistance

Most importantly though, he could be satisfied that there was a resistance, a response. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they stood up for him. This support may have been theatrical, done out of duty or mutual survival, but in this climate, it was important. The effort with which they played had been as well – even if there is a temptation of the most elementary of expectations somehow being promoted as a kind of positive.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a vision, that their failings were not his fault. “I think my teammate Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to improve the attitude. The attitude is the key thing and today we have seen a change.”

Jude Bellingham, questioned if they were supporting the coach, also answered with a figure: “100%.”

“We’re still striving to solve it in the dressing room,” he elaborated. “We understand that the [outside] chatter will not be productive so it is about striving to sort it out in there.”

“I think the manager has been great. I personally have a great relationship with him,” Bellingham stated. “Following the sequence of games where we drew a few, we had some honest conversations among ourselves.”

“Every situation ends in the end,” Alonso concluded, maybe talking as much about a difficult spell as his own predicament.