Alonso Treading a Fine Path at the Bernabéu Despite Dressing Room Endorsement.

No forward in the club's history had endured failing to find the net for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but eventually he was freed and he had a declaration to deliver, executed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had been goalless in an extended drought and was starting only his fifth appearance this season, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the advantage against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he turned and sprinted towards the touchline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the coach in the spotlight for whom this could represent an even greater release.

“This is a difficult moment for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Things are not going our way and I aimed to prove people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the lead had been lost, a setback ensuing. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso observed. That can happen when you’re in a “sensitive” condition, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had fought back. This time, they could not engineer a turnaround. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played very little all season, rattled the crossbar in the final seconds.

A Reserved Sentence

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo admitted. The dilemma was whether it would be enough for Alonso to retain his role. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was perceived internally. “Our performance proved that we’re with the manager: we have performed creditably, given 100%,” Courtois added. And so the axe was reserved, any action suspended, with games against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Distinct Type of Loss

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second occasion in four days, continuing their uninspiring streak to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this seemed a more respectable. This was a European powerhouse, not a domestic opponent. Simplified, they had competed with intensity, the simplest and most critical criticism not levelled at them on this night. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a spot-kick, nearly earning something at the final whistle. There were “many of very good things” about this performance, the boss argued, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, not this time.

The Bernabéu's Muted Response

That was not always the full story. There were moments in the closing 45 minutes, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the final whistle, some of supporters had done so again, although there was likewise pockets of appreciation. But mostly, there was a muted stream to the subway. “It's to be expected, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso remarked: “It’s nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were instances when they cheered too.”

Player Support Stands Evident

“I sense the confidence of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he backed them, they supported him too, at least in front of the public. There has been a rapprochement, talks: the coach had considered them, perhaps more than they had adapted to him, finding somewhere not precisely in the middle.

The longevity of a remedy that is continues to be an unresolved issue. One little incident in the post-match press conference appeared telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to stick to his principles, Alonso had permitted that implication to remain unanswered, answering: “I share a good relationship with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Starting Point of Resistance

Crucially though, he could be satisfied that there was a resistance, a response. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they defended him. Some of this may have been performative, done out of professionalism or self-interest, but in this context, it was significant. The commitment with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a danger of the most elementary of expectations 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 doing. “In my view my teammate Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to improve the approach. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have witnessed a difference.”

Jude Bellingham, questioned if they were behind the coach, also responded with a figure: “100%.”

“We are continuing striving to solve it in the changing room,” he elaborated. “We know that the [outside] noise will not be productive so it is about striving to resolve it in there.”

“Personally, I feel the gaffer has been superb. I personally have a excellent relationship with him,” Bellingham stated. “After the run of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations behind the scenes.”

“Every situation ends in the end,” Alonso philosophized, perhaps speaking as much about poor form as everything.