Alonso Navigating a Fine Line at the Bernabéu Despite Player Support.

No offensive player in Real Madrid’s annals had endured failing to find the net for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but eventually he was unleashed and he had a message to deliver, performed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had been goalless in an extended drought and was beginning only his fifth game this campaign, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the opening goal against Manchester City. Then he spun and charged towards the sideline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the manager under pressure for whom this could signal an even greater release.

“It’s a difficult time for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Performances are not going our way and I wanted to show people that we are united with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the lead had been taken from them, another loss following. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso observed. That can occur when you’re in a “sensitive” situation, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had fought back. Ultimately, they could not complete a turnaround. Endrick, brought on having played very little all season, rattled the bar in the dying moments.

A Suspended Verdict

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo admitted. The dilemma was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to keep his role. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was perceived internally. “Our performance proved that we’re with the coach: we have given a good account, offered 100%,” Courtois added. And so the final decision was withheld, sentencing delayed, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A More Credible Kind of Loss

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second time in four days, extending their poor form to two wins in eight, but this was a somewhat distinct. This was Manchester City, as opposed to a La Liga opponent. Simplified, they had competed with intensity, the most obvious and most damning criticism not directed at them in this instance. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a converted penalty, almost securing something at the end. There were “a lot of very good things” about this showing, the boss stated, and there could be “no blame” of his players, tonight.

The Bernabéu's Ambivalent Reaction

That was not entirely the full story. There were periods in the second half, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the conclusion, a portion of supporters had continued, although there was likewise sporadic clapping. But for the most part, there was a quiet stream to the subway. “We understand that, we accept it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso stated: “This is nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were instances when they applauded too.”

Player Backing Is Firm

“I sense 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 coming together, talks: the coach had listened to them, maybe more than they had accommodated him, meeting somewhere not precisely in the middle.

Whether durable a remedy that is remains an unresolved issue. One small exchange in the after-game press conference appeared notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to follow his own path, Alonso had let that implication to linger, responding: “I have a good rapport with Pep, we understand each other well and he understands what he is talking about.”

A Foundation of Fight

Above all though, he could be pleased that there was a fight, a response. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they publicly backed him. Part of it may have been theatrical, done out of obligation or self-preservation, but in this context, it was significant. The commitment with which they played had been as well – even if there is a risk of the most basic of expectations somehow being framed as a form of achievement.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a strategy, that their shortcomings were not his doing. “I think my teammate Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The key is [for] the players to alter the attitude. The attitude is the key thing and today we have seen a change.”

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

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

“Personally, I feel the coach has been great. I individually have a excellent connection with him,” Bellingham stated. “After the run of games where we tied a few, we had some honest conversations among ourselves.”

“Every situation passes in the end,” Alonso mused, possibly speaking as much about adversity as his own predicament.