Manager Alonso Navigating a Thin Path at Real Madrid Even With Player Support.

No attacker in Real Madrid’s record books had experienced scoreless for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but finally he was freed and he had a statement to send, performed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had not scored in nine months and was beginning only his fifth match this campaign, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the opening goal against the English champions. Then he turned and sprinted towards the bench to greet Xabi Alonso, the manager in the spotlight for whom this could prove an more significant liberation.

“This is a challenging time for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Performances are not going our way and I sought to show the public that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the advantage had been surrendered, a defeat ensuing. City had come back, taking 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso noted. That can occur when you’re in a “sensitive” condition, he continued, but at least Madrid had reacted. Ultimately, they could not engineer a turnaround. Endrick, on as a substitute having played 11 minutes all season, hit the crossbar in the dying moments.

A Suspended Sentence

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo admitted. The issue was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to retain his role. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was felt privately. “We have shown that we’re supporting the coach: we have performed creditably, given 100%,” Courtois added. And so the axe was reserved, any action pending, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Different Kind of Setback

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second occasion in four days, extending their uninspiring streak to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this seemed a somewhat distinct. This was Manchester City, rather than a domestic opponent. Simplified, they had competed with intensity, the easiest and most harsh charge not directed at them on this night. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a spot-kick, nearly earning something at the end. There were “a lot of very good things” about this display, the boss said, and there could be “no blame” of his players, not this time.

The Fans' Muted Response

That was not always the case. There were moments in the closing 45 minutes, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At full time, a portion of supporters had repeated that, although there was likewise pockets of appreciation. But mostly, there was a muted stream to the exits. “That’s normal, we accept it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso remarked: “It’s nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were moments when they cheered too.”

Dressing Room Backing Is Firm

“I sense the backing of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he supported them, they backed him too, at least for the cameras. There has been a unification, conversations: the coach had considered them, maybe more than they had adapted to him, meeting somewhere not precisely in the compromise.

The longevity of a fix that is continues to be an matter of debate. One little exchange in the after-game press conference seemed telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to follow his own path, Alonso had let that idea to hang there, replying: “I have a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is saying.”

A Basis of Resistance

Above all though, he could be satisfied that there was a resistance, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they stood up for him. Some of this may have been for show, done out of obligation or mutual survival, but in this climate, it was meaningful. The effort with which they played had been as well – even if there is a risk of the most fundamental of standards somehow being elevated as a type of success.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a plan, that their failings were not his doing. “In my view my teammate Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to change the mindset. The attitude is the key thing and today we have seen a shift.”

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

“We’re still attempting to figure it out in the changing room,” he said. “It's clear that the [outside] noise will not be productive so it is about striving to resolve it in there.”

“Personally, I feel the gaffer has been superb. I personally have a excellent relationship with him,” Bellingham concluded. “After the spell of games where we drew a few, we had some really great conversations behind the scenes.”

“All things concludes in the end,” Alonso mused, maybe talking as much about adversity as anything else.