Manager Alonso Walking a Thin Line at Madrid Even With Squad Backing.

No forward in Real Madrid’s record books had gone failing to find the net for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but eventually he was unleashed and he had a declaration to deliver, performed for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in nine months and was starting only his fifth appearance this season, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the lead against Manchester City. Then he turned and ran towards the touchline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the coach in the spotlight for whom this could prove an profound liberation.

“This is a tough time for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Things aren’t coming off and I sought to prove the public that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been taken from them, a setback ensuing. City had reversed the score, going 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso observed. That can transpire when you’re in a “fragile” condition, he added, but at least Madrid had fought back. Ultimately, they could not engineer a comeback. Endrick, brought on having played 11 minutes all season, rattled the woodwork in the final seconds.

A Reserved Verdict

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo said. The issue was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to hold onto his role. “We didn't view it as [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was felt privately. “We have shown that we’re with the manager: we have played well, offered 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the final decision was reserved, consequences delayed, with games against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A More Credible Form of Defeat

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second match in four days, continuing their uninspiring streak to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this was a little different. This was Manchester City, not a lesser opponent. Streamlined, they had actually run, the easiest and most damning criticism not levelled at them this time. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a penalty, almost earning something at the end. There were “a lot of very good things” about this display, the manager said, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, on this occasion.

The Stadium's Mixed Reaction

That was not completely the complete picture. There were periods in the closing 45 minutes, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the conclusion, some of supporters had done so again, although there was likewise pockets of appreciation. But primarily, there was a muted stream to the exits. “We understand that, we accept it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso added: “There's nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were times when they applauded too.”

Squad Unity Is Evident

“I sense the support of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he supported them, they stood by him too, at least towards the cameras. There has been a unification, conversations: the coach had accommodated them, perhaps more than they had embraced him, reaching a point not precisely in the middle.

The longevity of a fix that is continues to be an unresolved issue. One little moment in the after-game press conference felt notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to stick to his principles, Alonso had allowed that notion to hang there, replying: “I share a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he understands what he is implying.”

A Basis of Fight

Crucially though, he could be satisfied that there was a spirit, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they publicly backed him. Part of it may have been theatrical, done out of obligation or mutual survival, but in this context, it was important. The intensity with which they played had been too – even if there is a risk of the most elementary of expectations somehow being promoted as a type of achievement.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a plan, that their shortcomings were not his responsibility. “I think my colleague Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The key is [for] the players to improve the attitude. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have observed a shift.”

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

“We’re still trying to figure it out in the locker room,” he elaborated. “We understand that the [outside] chatter will not be helpful so it is about trying to resolve it in there.”

“Personally, I feel the manager has been superb. I personally have a strong relationship with him,” Bellingham concluded. “After the run of games where we were held a few, we had some really great conversations behind the scenes.”

“Everything ends in the end,” Alonso philosophized, maybe referring as much about a difficult spell as his own predicament.