Manager Alonso Treading a Thin Path at Madrid Even With Player Backing.

No offensive player in Los Blancos' record books had gone without a goal for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but finally he was unleashed and he had a declaration to broadcast, performed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in almost a year and was commencing only his fifth game this season, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the lead against Manchester City. Then he turned and ran towards the bench to hug Xabi Alonso, the boss on the edge for whom this could prove an even greater release.

“It’s a difficult period for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Things aren’t coming off and I wanted to show people that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the lead had been surrendered, a defeat ensuing. City had reversed the score, taking 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 reacted. On this occasion, they could not pull off a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played 11 minutes all season, struck the bar in the dying moments.

A Delayed Sentence

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo said. The issue was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to hold onto his position. “We didn't view it as [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was felt privately. “We demonstrated that we’re with the coach: we have played well, offered 100%,” Courtois added. And so the final decision was postponed, sentencing pending, with games against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Distinct Kind of Loss

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second match in four days, perpetuating their uninspiring streak to just two victories in eight, but this seemed a more respectable. This was Manchester City, as opposed to a La Liga opponent. Streamlined, they had shown fight, the simplest and most harsh charge not aimed at them this time. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a spot-kick, almost salvaging something at the final whistle. There were “many of very good things” about this performance, the boss stated, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, not this time.

The Bernabéu's Mixed Reception

That was not entirely the case. There were spells in the second half, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the final whistle, some of supporters had done so again, although there was in addition pockets of appreciation. But for the most part, there was a muted stream to the doors. “That’s normal, we understand it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso added: “There's nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were instances when they cheered too.”

Squad Backing Stands Strong

“I have the confidence of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he supported them, they backed him too, at least towards the public. There has been a rapprochement, conversations: the coach had considered them, perhaps more than they had embraced him, meeting common ground not exactly in the compromise.

Whether durable a fix that is continues to be an open question. One little exchange in the post-match press conference felt notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to stick to his principles, Alonso had let that notion to hang there, replying: “I have a good rapport with Pep, we know each other well and he is aware of what he is talking about.”

A Basis of Resistance

Above all though, he could be content that there was a fight, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they defended him. Part of it may have been performative, done out of professionalism or mutual survival, but in this context, it was meaningful. The commitment with which they played had been as well – even if there is a risk of the most fundamental of standards somehow being promoted as a type of success.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a vision, that their shortcomings were not his doing. “I think my colleague Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The only way is [for] the players to improve the mindset. The attitude is the key thing and today we have observed a shift.”

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

“We persist in trying to figure it out in the changing room,” he said. “We know that the [outside] speculation will not be productive so it is about attempting to sort it out in there.”

“I think the manager has been excellent. I myself have a great relationship with him,” Bellingham stated. “After the run of games where we were held a few, we had some very productive conversations behind the scenes.”

“Every situation concludes in the end,” Alonso concluded, possibly speaking as much about poor form as his own predicament.