Xabi Alonso Treading a Precarious Tightrope at Real Madrid Amidst Player Backing.

No forward in Real Madrid’s history had gone without a goal for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but eventually he was released and he had a statement to send, acted out for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in nine months and was beginning only his fifth appearance this term, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the advantage against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he spun and charged towards the bench to hug Xabi Alonso, the boss in the spotlight for whom this could represent an more significant release.

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

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the advantage had been lost, a setback ensuing. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso remarked. That can transpire when you’re in a “fragile” situation, he continued, but at least Madrid had fought back. Ultimately, they could not complete a comeback. Endrick, on as a substitute having played 11 minutes all season, rattled the woodwork in the final seconds.

A Reserved Judgment

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo conceded. The question was whether it would be enough for Alonso to hold onto his job. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was felt privately. “Our performance proved that we’re behind the manager: we have performed creditably, provided 100%,” Courtois added. And so the final decision was postponed, any action suspended, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A More Credible Form of Loss

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second time in four days, continuing their uninspiring streak to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this felt a somewhat distinct. This was Manchester City, as opposed to a lesser opponent. Simplified, they had competed with intensity, the most obvious and most damning charge not directed at them in this instance. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a converted penalty, coming close to securing 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 Stadium's Ambivalent Reaction

That was not always the complete picture. There were spells in the closing 45 minutes, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the conclusion, some of supporters had done so again, although there was in addition pockets of appreciation. But primarily, there was a subdued flow to the exits. “We understand that, we accept it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso added: “It’s nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were times when they clapped too.”

Dressing Room Unity Remains Evident

“I feel the confidence of the players,” Alonso said. And if he backed them, they backed him too, at least in front of the public. There has been a unification, talks: the coach had considered them, perhaps more than they had accommodated him, reaching a point not precisely in the center.

How lasting a fix that is continues to be an open question. One seemingly minor moment in the after-game press conference appeared telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to follow his own path, Alonso had allowed that idea to linger, responding: “I have a good relationship with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is implying.”

A Foundation of Resistance

Crucially though, he could be content that there was a fight, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they publicly backed him. This support may have been theatrical, done out of professionalism or self-preservation, but in this context, it was meaningful. The intensity with which they played had been too – even if there is a danger of the most basic of standards somehow being elevated as a kind of positive.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a vision, that their failings were not his doing. “I think my colleague Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The sole solution is [for] the players to alter the mindset. The attitude is the key thing and today we have observed a difference.”

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

“We are continuing trying to solve it in the dressing room,” he continued. “We know that the [outside] speculation will not be beneficial so it is about attempting to resolve it in there.”

“I think the gaffer has been great. I personally have a great connection with him,” Bellingham added. “After the spell of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations internally.”

“Every situation ends in the end,” Alonso concluded, perhaps talking as much about poor form as anything else.