Xabi Alonso Walking a Thin Tightrope at Madrid Even With Dressing Room Endorsement.

No attacker in the club's history had experienced without a goal for as long as Rodrygo, but eventually he was released and he had a message to broadcast, performed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had not scored in almost a year and was beginning only his fifth game this campaign, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the lead against the English champions. Then he wheeled and charged towards the bench to embrace Xabi Alonso, the manager on the edge for whom this could prove an even greater relief.

“It’s a tough moment for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Results are not going our way and I sought to demonstrate the public that we are united with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the lead had been lost, another loss ensuing. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso remarked. That can occur when you’re in a “fragile” situation, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had fought back. Ultimately, they could not complete a turnaround. Endrick, brought on having played a handful of minutes all season, hit the woodwork in the dying moments.

A Reserved Judgment

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo conceded. The issue was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to keep his role. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We demonstrated that we’re supporting the coach: we have given a good account, given 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so judgment was postponed, consequences delayed, with games against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A More Credible Kind of Loss

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second match in four days, perpetuating their uninspiring streak to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this felt a somewhat distinct. This was a European powerhouse, not a lesser opponent. Simplified, they had shown fight, the most obvious and most critical accusation not aimed at them this time. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a penalty, nearly securing something at the death. There were “numerous of very good things” about this showing, the boss argued, and there could be “no blame” of his players, on this occasion.

The Fans' Muted Reception

That was not completely the case. There were spells in the latter period, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the final whistle, a section of supporters had done so again, although there was also some applause. But primarily, there was a subdued flow to the subway. “We understand that, we accept it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso remarked: “This is nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were instances when they clapped too.”

Squad Unity Is Firm

“I have the confidence of the players,” Alonso said. And if he stood by them, they supported him too, at least for the cameras. There has been a coming together, discussions: the coach had listened to them, maybe more than they had accommodated him, meeting common ground not precisely in the center.

Whether durable a fix that is is still an matter of debate. One little incident in the post-match press conference appeared significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to follow his own path, Alonso had let that notion to linger, answering: “I have a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he understands what he is talking about.”

A Basis of Resistance

Most importantly though, he could be satisfied that there was a resistance, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they publicly backed him. Part of it may have been performative, done out of duty or self-preservation, but in this climate, it was significant. The commitment with which they played had been as well – even if there is a danger of the most basic of requirements somehow being promoted as a type of achievement.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a strategy, that their mistakes were not his doing. “In my view my colleague 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 linchpin and today we have observed a shift.”

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

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

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

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