Manager Alonso Treading a Precarious Path at Madrid Despite Player Endorsement.

No offensive player in the club's history had experienced failing to find the net for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but at last he was released and he had a message to send, executed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had been goalless in an extended drought and was beginning only his fifth appearance this term, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the advantage against the English champions. Then he wheeled and charged towards the bench to hug Xabi Alonso, the coach in the spotlight for whom this could signal an profound relief.

“This is a challenging moment for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Performances aren't working out and I aimed to demonstrate everyone that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the lead had been lost, a defeat taking its place. City had turned it around, going 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso remarked. That can transpire when you’re in a “delicate” state, he continued, but at least Madrid had reacted. On this occasion, they could not pull off a turnaround. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played a handful of minutes all season, hit the crossbar in the closing stages.

A Suspended Sentence

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo conceded. The question was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to retain his position. “We didn't view it as [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was felt privately. “Our performance proved that we’re behind the coach: we have given a good account, given 100%,” Courtois added. And so judgment was postponed, sentencing pending, with games against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A More Credible Form of Setback

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second occasion in four days, continuing their recent run to two wins in eight, but this was a somewhat distinct. This was the Premier League champions, not a domestic opponent. Stripped down, they had shown fight, the most obvious and most harsh charge not levelled at them on this night. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a penalty, almost securing something at the death. There were “numerous of very good things” about this showing, the manager stated, and there could be “no blame” of his players, tonight.

The Fans' Mixed Reception

That was not completely the full story. There were moments in the closing 45 minutes, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the conclusion, some of supporters had repeated that, although there was also some applause. But for the most part, there was a subdued flow to the subway. “That’s normal, we accept it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso remarked: “This is nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were moments when they applauded too.”

Dressing Room Support Stands Strong

“I feel the backing of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he stood by them, they stood by him too, at least for the public. There has been a coming together, discussions: the coach had considered them, maybe more than they had adapted to him, meeting a point not quite in the compromise.

How lasting a solution that is continues to be an matter of debate. One little exchange in the after-game press conference appeared telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to stick to his principles, Alonso had let that notion to hang there, replying: “I share a good relationship with Pep, we know each other well and he is aware of what he is implying.”

A Foundation of Fight

Crucially though, he could be satisfied that there was a fight, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they stood up for him. Some of this may have been theatrical, done out of duty or self-preservation, but in this climate, it was significant. The commitment with which they played had been too – even if there is a danger of the most fundamental of standards somehow being framed as a form of success.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a strategy, that their shortcomings were not his fault. “In my view my colleague Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The key is [for] the players to change the approach. The attitude is the key thing and today we have witnessed a change.”

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

“We are continuing striving to work it out in the changing room,” he continued. “It's clear that the [outside] chatter will not be helpful so it is about striving to fix it in there.”

“In my opinion the manager has been great. I individually have a great rapport with him,” Bellingham stated. “After the run of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations among ourselves.”

“All things ends in the end,” Alonso concluded, maybe referring as much about adversity as anything else.