Xabi Alonso Treading a Precarious Line at Real Madrid Even With Player Endorsement.

No offensive player in the club's record books had gone scoreless for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but finally he was unleashed and he had a message to send, performed for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in nine months and was commencing only his fifth match this campaign, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the advantage against the English champions. Then he turned and sprinted towards the bench to hug Xabi Alonso, the manager under pressure for whom this could represent an profound liberation.

“This is a challenging period for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Results aren't working out and I wanted to demonstrate the public that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the advantage had been lost, a defeat following. City had come back, taking 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso noted. That can occur when you’re in a “fragile” situation, he added, but at least Madrid had fought back. Ultimately, they could not complete a comeback. Endrick, brought on having played 11 minutes all season, rattled the crossbar in the closing stages.

A Delayed Sentence

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo said. The issue was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to retain 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 portrayed in the media, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We have shown that we’re behind the coach: we have given a good account, provided 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so the final decision was postponed, consequences delayed, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A More Credible Form of Loss

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second match in four days, perpetuating their poor form to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this felt a more respectable. This was a European powerhouse, as opposed to a La Liga opponent. Simplified, they had actually run, the easiest and most damning criticism not levelled at them on this night. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a converted penalty, coming close to earning something at the final whistle. There were “many of very good things” about this showing, the manager stated, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, not this time.

The Bernabéu's Ambivalent Reaction

That was not always the case. There were moments in the second half, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the conclusion, some of supporters had done so again, although there was also sporadic clapping. But mostly, there was a quiet flow to the exits. “It's to be expected, we understand it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso added: “This is nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were moments when they clapped too.”

Player Backing Remains Strong

“I have the support of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he backed them, they backed him too, at least for the cameras. There has been a coming together, discussions: the coach had listened to them, maybe more than they had adapted to him, finding somewhere not exactly in the compromise.

The longevity of a fix that is continues to be an open question. One little exchange in the after-game press conference seemed notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to follow his own path, Alonso had allowed that notion to remain unanswered, replying: “I have a good rapport with Pep, we understand each other well and he is aware of what he is talking about.”

A Starting Point of Reaction

Most importantly 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 defended him. Part of it may have been for show, done out of obligation or self-interest, but in this tense environment, it was important. The commitment with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a risk of the most elementary of standards somehow being framed as a form of achievement.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a plan, that their mistakes were not his doing. “I think my colleague Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The key is [for] the players to improve the mindset. The attitude is the key thing and today we have witnessed a shift.”

Jude Bellingham, pressed if they were behind the coach, also answered quantitatively: “100%.”

“We are continuing attempting to solve it in the locker room,” he said. “It's clear that the [outside] noise will not be helpful so it is about trying to sort it out in there.”

“Personally, I feel the gaffer has been superb. I personally have a strong connection with him,” Bellingham stated. “After the spell of games where we tied a few, we had some very productive conversations among ourselves.”

“All things concludes in the end,” Alonso concluded, possibly referring as much about poor form as his own predicament.