Manager Alonso Navigating a Thin Line at Madrid Despite Squad Endorsement.

No forward in the club's history had experienced without a goal for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but finally he was freed and he had a statement to send, executed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had not scored in almost a year and was beginning only his fifth match this season, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the opening goal against Manchester City. Then he turned and ran towards the bench to greet Xabi Alonso, the coach under pressure for whom this could prove an even greater relief.

“It’s a difficult moment for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Things aren’t coming off and I aimed to prove everyone that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the advantage had been lost, a defeat following. City had turned it around, going 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso observed. That can happen when you’re in a “sensitive” condition, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had reacted. On this occasion, they could not engineer a comeback. Endrick, brought on having played 11 minutes all season, struck the woodwork in the final seconds.

A Reserved Sentence

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo admitted. The issue was whether it would be enough for Alonso to retain his role. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We have shown that we’re behind the coach: we have played well, provided 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so the axe was postponed, consequences suspended, with games against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Different Kind of Setback

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second occasion in four days, extending their uninspiring streak to just two victories in eight, but this felt a somewhat distinct. This was Manchester City, rather than a domestic opponent. Simplified, they had actually run, the simplest and most damning criticism not aimed at them in this instance. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a converted penalty, coming close to salvaging something at the end. There were “a lot of very good things” about this performance, the manager said, and there could be “no blame” of his players, tonight.

The Fans' Mixed Reaction

That was not completely the full story. There were moments in the closing 45 minutes, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the conclusion, some of supporters had done so again, although there was likewise some applause. But for the most part, there was a quiet stream to the subway. “It's to be expected, we understand it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso added: “It’s nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were times when they clapped too.”

Dressing Room Unity Is Evident

“I have the support of the players,” Alonso said. And if he supported them, they supported him too, at least for the public. There has been a rapprochement, talks: the coach had accommodated them, perhaps more than they had accommodated him, meeting somewhere not exactly in the middle.

How lasting a remedy that is remains an matter of debate. One seemingly minor exchange in the post-match press conference seemed notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to do things his way, Alonso had permitted that implication to linger, replying: “I have a good relationship with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Starting Point of Resistance

Above all though, he could be content that there was a resistance, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they publicly backed him. Some of this may have been for show, done out of obligation or self-interest, but in this tense environment, it was important. The commitment with which they played had been as well – even if there is a temptation of the most fundamental of requirements somehow being elevated as a form of achievement.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a plan, that their shortcomings were not his doing. “I believe my colleague Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The sole solution is [for] the players to change the mindset. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have witnessed a change.”

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

“We’re still attempting to solve it in the changing room,” he continued. “It's clear that the [outside] chatter will not be beneficial so it is about trying to resolve it in there.”

“In my opinion the gaffer has been great. I individually have a excellent rapport with him,” Bellingham added. “After the spell of games where we were held a few, we had some very productive conversations behind the scenes.”

“Every situation ends in the end,” Alonso mused, possibly referring as much about a difficult spell as everything.