Xabi Alonso Walking a Thin Path at Madrid Amidst Dressing Room Backing.

No forward in Los Blancos' history had experienced without a goal for as long as Rodrygo, but finally he was unleashed and he had a declaration to broadcast, executed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had been goalless in nine months and was commencing only his fifth game this campaign, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the opening goal against Manchester City. Then he spun and charged towards the bench to embrace Xabi Alonso, the boss in the spotlight for whom this could signal an more significant liberation.

“This is a challenging period for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Performances aren't working out and I wanted to prove people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the advantage had been surrendered, another loss following. City had come back, taking 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso remarked. That can transpire when you’re in a “fragile” situation, he continued, but at least Madrid had reacted. On this occasion, they could not complete a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played a handful of minutes all season, hit the crossbar in the final seconds.

A Delayed Judgment

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo said. The dilemma was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to retain his role. “We didn't view it as [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was perceived internally. “We demonstrated that we’re behind the coach: we have played well, provided 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the final decision was withheld, sentencing suspended, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Distinct Type of Loss

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second match in four days, continuing their poor form to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this seemed a little different. This was Manchester City, not a domestic opponent. Streamlined, they had competed with intensity, the easiest and most critical charge not directed at them this time. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a spot-kick, nearly earning something at the end. There were “a lot of very good things” about this display, the boss argued, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, on this occasion.

The Stadium's Mixed Reaction

That was not completely the case. There were periods 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 likewise pockets of appreciation. But for the most part, there was a subdued stream to the exits. “We understand that, we accept it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso remarked: “There's nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were moments when they cheered too.”

Dressing Room Backing Is Strong

“I sense the confidence of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he stood by them, they backed him too, at least towards the cameras. There has been a coming together, talks: the coach had considered them, perhaps more than they had accommodated him, meeting a point not quite in the center.

How lasting a solution that is continues to be an unresolved issue. One small exchange in the after-game press conference appeared significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to do things his way, Alonso had permitted that notion to remain unanswered, answering: “I have a good rapport with Pep, we know each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Foundation of Fight

Most importantly though, he could be content that there was a fight, a response. 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 performative, done out of obligation or mutual survival, but in this context, it was meaningful. The intensity with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a risk of the most elementary of expectations somehow being promoted as a type of achievement.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a vision, that their mistakes were not his fault. “I think my colleague Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The only way is [for] the players to alter the mindset. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have witnessed a change.”

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

“We’re still striving to figure it out in the locker room,” he said. “We understand that the [outside] chatter will not be helpful so it is about trying to fix it in there.”

“I think the manager has been great. I personally have a excellent rapport with him,” Bellingham added. “After the sequence of games where we tied a few, we had some honest conversations internally.”

“All things ends in the end,” Alonso concluded, perhaps referring as much about poor form as anything else.