Xabi Alonso Walking a Thin Path at the Bernabéu Even With Squad Endorsement.

No attacker in Los Blancos' record books had gone failing to find the net for as long as Rodrygo, but at last he was released and he had a message to broadcast, performed for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in an extended drought and was beginning only his fifth match this term, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the lead against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he wheeled and ran towards the bench to hug Xabi Alonso, the manager on the edge for whom this could represent an more significant liberation.

“It’s a difficult period for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Results aren’t coming off and I aimed to demonstrate everyone that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the lead had been taken from them, a defeat ensuing. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso remarked. That can happen when you’re in a “fragile” state, he continued, but at least Madrid had responded. On this occasion, they could not pull off a recovery. Endrick, on as a substitute having played 11 minutes all season, rattled the crossbar in the closing stages.

A Reserved Verdict

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo conceded. The question was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to retain 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 understood behind closed doors. “We demonstrated that we’re with the manager: we have given a good account, provided 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so judgment was postponed, any action suspended, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Distinct Form of Defeat

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second match in four days, continuing their poor form to just two victories in eight, but this felt a somewhat distinct. This was a European powerhouse, not a lesser opponent. Simplified, they had shown fight, the simplest and most critical charge not directed at them on this night. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a converted penalty, almost earning something at the final whistle. There were “many of very good things” about this performance, the manager argued, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, on this occasion.

The Bernabéu's Mixed Response

That was not always the complete picture. There were moments in the second half, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had voiced its disapproval. At the final whistle, a portion of supporters had done so again, although there was likewise pockets of appreciation. But primarily, there was a subdued procession to the doors. “That’s normal, we accept it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso added: “It’s nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were moments when they clapped too.”

Dressing Room Unity Is Strong

“I have the backing of the players,” Alonso said. And if he supported them, they supported him too, at least for the public. There has been a rapprochement, conversations: the coach had considered them, arguably more than they had adapted to him, meeting a point not exactly in the middle.

Whether durable a fix that is remains an matter of debate. One little exchange in the post-match press conference appeared telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to do things his way, Alonso had permitted that notion to hang there, answering: “I share a good connection with Pep, we know each other well and he is aware of what he is talking about.”

A Starting Point of Resistance

Crucially though, he could be satisfied that there was a fight, a response. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they publicly backed him. This support may have been performative, done out of obligation or mutual survival, but in this climate, it was important. The commitment with which they played had been too – even if there is a temptation of the most elementary of requirements somehow being promoted as a kind of success.

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

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

“We persist in striving to solve it in the dressing room,” he continued. “We know that the [outside] noise will not be beneficial so it is about attempting to sort it out in there.”

“Personally, I feel the gaffer has been great. I personally have a great relationship with him,” Bellingham stated. “Following the run of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations behind the scenes.”

“All things ends in the end,” Alonso philosophized, maybe talking as much about poor form as anything else.