Manager Alonso Walking a Fine Tightrope at the Bernabéu Amidst Squad Endorsement.

No attacker in Real Madrid’s annals had gone failing to find the net for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but at last he was freed and he had a statement to broadcast, performed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had been goalless in almost a year and was starting only his fifth appearance this campaign, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the opening goal against the English champions. Then he spun and sprinted towards the sideline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the coach under pressure for whom this could signal an profound release.

“It’s a challenging moment for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Performances aren’t coming off and I aimed to prove people that we are united with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the lead had been lost, another loss taking its place. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso observed. That can occur when you’re in a “delicate” state, he added, but at least Madrid had responded. This time, they could not engineer a recovery. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played very little all season, rattled the bar in the dying moments.

A Delayed Verdict

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo said. The dilemma was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to retain his job. “That wasn't our perception [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 felt privately. “We demonstrated that we’re with the coach: we have played well, offered 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so judgment was postponed, consequences delayed, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Distinct Kind of Defeat

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second match in four days, perpetuating their poor form to just two victories in eight, but this felt a more respectable. This was a European powerhouse, as opposed to a domestic opponent. Stripped down, they had actually run, the simplest and most harsh charge not levelled at them on this night. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a converted penalty, almost securing something at the end. There were “a lot of very good things” about this display, the head coach said, and there could be “no blame” of his players, not this time.

The Stadium's Ambivalent Reaction

That was not completely the complete picture. There were moments in the latter period, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had voiced its disapproval. At the conclusion, some of supporters had done so again, although there was also some applause. But primarily, there was a subdued stream to the subway. “We understand that, we accept it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso stated: “This is nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were times when they applauded too.”

Dressing Room Support Is Strong

“I have the confidence of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he backed them, they supported him too, at least in front of the public. There has been a unification, discussions: the coach had accommodated them, arguably more than they had accommodated him, finding common ground not quite in the compromise.

How lasting a fix that is remains an open question. One seemingly minor exchange in the post-match press conference appeared significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to stick to his principles, Alonso had allowed that implication to hang there, replying: “I have a good rapport with Pep, we know each other well and he understands what he is talking about.”

A Foundation of Resistance

Above all though, he could be pleased that there was a fight, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they publicly backed him. This support may have been for show, done out of duty or mutual survival, but in this context, it was important. The effort with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a risk of the most basic of standards somehow being elevated as a form of achievement.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a strategy, that their failings were not his responsibility. “I believe my teammate Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The only way is [for] the players to improve the approach. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have witnessed a change.”

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

“We persist in striving to figure it out in the locker room,” he elaborated. “We know that the [outside] chatter will not be beneficial so it is about attempting to fix it in there.”

“In my opinion the coach has been great. I personally have a strong relationship with him,” Bellingham stated. “Following the spell of games where we drew a few, we had some honest conversations among ourselves.”

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