Xabi Alonso Walking a Fine Line at the Bernabéu Even With Squad Backing.

No attacker in the club's annals had gone without a goal for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but at last he was freed and he had a statement to send, executed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had been goalless in nine months and was starting only his fifth match this term, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the advantage against the English champions. Then he spun and ran towards the bench to embrace Xabi Alonso, the boss on the edge for whom this could prove an profound liberation.

“This is a challenging moment for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Results are not going our way and I sought to demonstrate people that we are united with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been taken from them, a setback following. City had turned it around, going 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso noted. That can occur when you’re in a “fragile” condition, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had responded. Ultimately, they could not engineer a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played a handful of minutes all season, hit the crossbar in the final seconds.

A Suspended Verdict

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo said. The question was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to hold onto 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 framed publicly, and how it was perceived internally. “Our performance proved that we’re supporting the manager: we have performed creditably, offered 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the axe was reserved, consequences delayed, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A More Credible Kind of Defeat

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second time in four days, continuing their recent run to just two victories in eight, but this felt a little different. This was a European powerhouse, as opposed to a lesser opponent. Stripped down, they had competed with intensity, the simplest and most critical criticism not aimed at them this time. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a spot-kick, nearly securing something at the death. There were “numerous of very good things” about this performance, the boss stated, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, on this occasion.

The Stadium's Mixed Response

That was not entirely the complete picture. There were spells in the closing 45 minutes, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had voiced its disapproval. At full time, some of supporters had done so again, although there was in addition some applause. But mostly, there was a subdued procession to the subway. “We understand that, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso stated: “There's nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were moments when they cheered too.”

Dressing Room Support Is Strong

“I have the backing of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he supported them, they stood by 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, meeting a point not precisely in the center.

How lasting a solution that is continues to be an matter of debate. One little moment in the after-game press conference appeared significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to do things his way, Alonso had let that idea to linger, responding: “I have a good connection with Pep, we know each other well and he is aware of what he is saying.”

A Foundation of Reaction

Above all though, he could be pleased that there was a spirit, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they defended him. This support may have been theatrical, done out of professionalism or self-preservation, but in this tense environment, it was meaningful. The commitment with which they played had been too – even if there is a danger of the most elementary of expectations somehow being elevated as a type of success.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a vision, that their shortcomings were not his doing. “I think my teammate Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The only way is [for] the players to improve the approach. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have seen a change.”

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

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

“Personally, I feel the manager has been superb. I myself have a great connection with him,” Bellingham concluded. “After the run of games where we were held a few, we had some really great conversations behind the scenes.”

“Everything concludes in the end,” Alonso philosophized, possibly speaking as much about a difficult spell as his own predicament.