Alonso Navigating a Fine Tightrope at the Bernabéu Despite Dressing Room Backing.

No offensive player in the club's record books had gone without a goal for as long as Rodrygo, but finally he was freed and he had a statement to broadcast, performed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had not scored in an extended drought and was commencing only his fifth game this campaign, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the advantage against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he wheeled and charged towards the sideline to greet Xabi Alonso, the coach on the edge for whom this could represent an profound liberation.

“It’s a difficult period for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Performances aren't working out and I wanted to demonstrate people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the lead had been surrendered, another loss taking its place. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso noted. That can occur when you’re in a “delicate” situation, he added, but at least Madrid had reacted. This time, they could not complete a comeback. 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 dilemma was whether it would be enough for Alonso to keep his role. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We demonstrated that we’re supporting the manager: we have given a good account, given 100%,” Courtois added. And so judgment was reserved, consequences delayed, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Different Kind of Loss

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second occasion in four days, perpetuating their uninspiring streak to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this felt a little different. This was the Premier League champions, rather than a lesser opponent. Streamlined, they had actually run, the simplest and most critical charge not aimed at them in this instance. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a spot-kick, nearly salvaging something at the final whistle. There were “many of very good things” about this showing, the boss argued, and there could be “no blame” of his players, on this occasion.

The Bernabéu's Ambivalent Reception

That was not entirely the complete picture. There were spells in the latter period, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At full time, some of supporters had continued, although there was likewise pockets of appreciation. But primarily, there was a subdued flow to the doors. “That’s normal, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso stated: “It’s nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were times when they clapped too.”

Player Unity Stands Evident

“I have the backing of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he backed them, they supported him too, at least towards the public. There has been a rapprochement, discussions: the coach had accommodated them, maybe more than they had adapted to him, finding a point not quite in the middle.

How lasting a solution that is remains an matter of debate. One little moment in the post-match press conference felt notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to do things his way, Alonso had allowed that notion to linger, responding: “I have a good connection with Pep, we know each other well and he is aware of what he is implying.”

A Foundation of Reaction

Crucially though, he could be pleased that there was a spirit, a response. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they stood up for him. Part of it may have been theatrical, done out of duty or mutual survival, but in this climate, it was meaningful. The intensity with which they played had been too – even if there is a risk of the most basic of requirements somehow being framed as a form of positive.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a strategy, that their mistakes were not his fault. “I think my colleague Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to alter the attitude. The attitude is the key thing and today we have witnessed a difference.”

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

“We persist in striving to solve it in the changing room,” he said. “We know that the [outside] noise will not be helpful so it is about attempting to resolve it in there.”

“Personally, I feel the gaffer has been excellent. I personally have a strong connection with him,” Bellingham stated. “Following the run of games where we were held a few, we had some very productive conversations among ourselves.”

“Every situation passes in the end,” Alonso mused, possibly talking as much about a difficult spell as anything else.