Manager Alonso Navigating a Thin Line at the Bernabéu Despite Squad Support.

No forward in Real Madrid’s annals had gone without a goal for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but finally he was released and he had a statement to deliver, acted out for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in an extended drought and was commencing only his fifth match this season, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the opening goal against Manchester City. Then he turned and charged towards the touchline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the boss in the spotlight for whom this could signal an profound liberation.

“It’s a difficult time for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Performances aren’t coming off and I aimed to show people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the advantage had been lost, another loss following. City had turned it around, going 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso observed. That can happen when you’re in a “sensitive” situation, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had reacted. This time, they could not complete a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played very little all season, rattled the bar in the dying moments.

A Reserved Verdict

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo conceded. The issue was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to keep his position. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was perceived internally. “Our performance proved that we’re supporting the coach: we have played well, offered 100%,” Courtois added. And so judgment was reserved, any action delayed, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A Different Form of Loss

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second occasion in four days, perpetuating their poor form to just two victories in eight, but this seemed a little different. This was the Premier League champions, not a La Liga opponent. Simplified, they had shown fight, the easiest and most critical accusation not aimed at them in this instance. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a penalty, coming close to earning something at the final whistle. There were “numerous of very good things” about this display, the boss said, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, on this occasion.

The Fans' Muted Reaction

That was not entirely the complete picture. 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 continued, although there was also some applause. But for the most part, there was a subdued stream to the subway. “We understand that, we understand it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso stated: “This is nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were instances when they applauded too.”

Player Backing Remains Evident

“I sense the support of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he backed them, they backed him too, at least for the cameras. There has been a unification, conversations: the coach had accommodated them, maybe more than they had adapted to him, finding common ground not precisely in the middle.

How lasting a fix that is continues to be an matter of debate. One seemingly minor exchange in the after-game press conference felt telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to stick to his principles, Alonso had permitted that idea to hang there, answering: “I share a good rapport with Pep, we know each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Starting Point of Fight

Most importantly though, he could be satisfied that there was a spirit, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they defended him. Part of it may have been theatrical, done out of professionalism or mutual survival, but in this context, it was important. The intensity with which they played had been as well – even if there is a danger of the most basic of expectations somehow being framed as a form 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 colleague Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The sole solution is [for] the players to alter the attitude. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have witnessed a difference.”

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

“We persist in trying to work it out in the changing room,” he elaborated. “It's clear that the [outside] speculation will not be productive so it is about trying to resolve it in there.”

“In my opinion the gaffer has been great. I individually have a great connection with him,” Bellingham added. “After the sequence of games where we drew a few, we had some honest conversations behind the scenes.”

“Every situation ends in the end,” Alonso philosophized, maybe referring as much about a difficult spell as anything else.