Alonso Treading a Thin Tightrope at Real Madrid Despite Player Endorsement.

No forward in the club's annals had experienced failing to find the net for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but eventually he was unleashed and he had a message to deliver, acted out for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had not scored in nine months and was starting only his fifth game this campaign, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the advantage against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he spun and ran towards the sideline to greet Xabi Alonso, the coach under pressure for whom this could represent an profound release.

“It’s a tough time for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Results are not going our way and I wanted to show people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the advantage had been taken from them, a setback following. City had turned it around, taking 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso noted. That can transpire when you’re in a “sensitive” state, he continued, but at least Madrid had reacted. This time, they could not pull off a turnaround. Endrick, brought on having played very little all season, hit the crossbar in the closing stages.

A Reserved Judgment

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo admitted. The question was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to hold onto his job. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was perceived internally. “We demonstrated that we’re with the coach: we have given a good account, offered 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the axe was postponed, consequences pending, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Different Type of Loss

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second occasion in four days, perpetuating their recent run to two wins in eight, but this felt a somewhat distinct. This was Manchester City, as opposed to a lesser opponent. Streamlined, they had shown fight, the easiest and most harsh accusation not aimed at them this time. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a converted penalty, nearly earning something at the final whistle. There were “numerous of very good things” about this performance, the head coach argued, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, on this occasion.

The Bernabéu's Muted Response

That was not always the case. There were spells in the latter period, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At full time, a portion of supporters had continued, although there was in addition sporadic clapping. But primarily, there was a muted flow to the exits. “We understand that, we understand it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso added: “There's nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were times when they cheered too.”

Squad Support Remains Firm

“I sense the confidence of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he backed them, they stood by him too, at least for the public. There has been a rapprochement, talks: the coach had listened to them, perhaps more than they had accommodated him, reaching a point not exactly in the center.

How lasting a remedy that is continues to be an open question. One little exchange in the after-game press conference seemed telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to do things his way, Alonso had let that notion to linger, responding: “I have 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 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 performative, done out of duty or mutual survival, but in this climate, it was important. The intensity with which they played had been as well – even if there is a danger of the most elementary of standards somehow being promoted as a form of success.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a strategy, that their shortcomings were not his doing. “I believe my teammate Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The sole solution is [for] the players to change the attitude. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have observed a shift.”

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

“We are continuing trying to work it out in the changing room,” he continued. “It's clear that the [outside] speculation will not be productive so it is about attempting to resolve it in there.”

“Personally, I feel the coach has been great. I myself have a excellent relationship with him,” Bellingham stated. “Following the sequence of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations internally.”

“All things ends in the end,” Alonso mused, maybe referring as much about poor form as everything.