Alonso Walking a Precarious Path at Real Madrid Amidst Player Endorsement.

No forward in Real Madrid’s record books had experienced without a goal for as long as Rodrygo, but finally he was released and he had a statement to deliver, acted out for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in an extended drought and was starting only his fifth match this term, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the opening goal against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he turned and sprinted towards the touchline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the boss on the edge for whom this could prove an more significant liberation.

“This is a difficult time for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Results aren’t coming off and I aimed to prove everyone that we are united with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been lost, a defeat following. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso remarked. That can transpire when you’re in a “delicate” situation, he continued, but at least Madrid had responded. This time, they could not pull off a turnaround. Endrick, on as a substitute having played very little all season, struck the woodwork in the dying moments.

A Suspended Sentence

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo said. The question was whether it would be enough for Alonso to keep his job. “We didn't view it as [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. “We demonstrated that we’re behind the manager: we have given a good account, provided 100%,” Courtois added. And so the final decision was reserved, any action delayed, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A More Credible Kind of Loss

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second time in four days, extending their uninspiring streak to two wins in eight, but this felt a little different. This was the Premier League champions, not a La Liga opponent. Streamlined, they had competed with intensity, the simplest and most damning charge not aimed at them in this instance. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a penalty, almost earning something at the end. There were “many of very good things” about this performance, the manager said, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, not this time.

The Bernabéu's Muted Reaction

That was not entirely the full story. There were moments in the closing 45 minutes, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At full time, some of supporters had repeated that, although there was also some applause. But for the most part, there was a subdued procession to the doors. “It's to be expected, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso remarked: “This is nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were moments when they clapped too.”

Dressing Room Unity Remains Evident

“I have the backing of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he stood by them, they backed him too, at least for the public. There has been a coming together, talks: the coach had accommodated them, maybe more than they had accommodated him, finding a point not precisely in the middle.

How lasting a fix that is is still an unresolved issue. One small moment in the after-game press conference felt significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to stick to his principles, Alonso had permitted that idea to linger, answering: “I have a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is implying.”

A Basis of Fight

Most importantly though, he could be satisfied that there was a spirit, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they stood up for him. Some of this may have been performative, done out of duty or self-preservation, but in this climate, it was important. The effort with which they played had been as well – even if there is a danger of the most basic of expectations somehow being elevated as a form of success.

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

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

“We persist in attempting to figure it out in the changing room,” he continued. “We know that the [outside] speculation will not be productive so it is about attempting to sort it out in there.”

“Personally, I feel the gaffer has been excellent. I myself have a strong connection with him,” Bellingham added. “After the sequence of games where we drew a few, we had some really great conversations behind the scenes.”

“Everything concludes in the end,” Alonso concluded, possibly speaking as much about adversity as his own predicament.