Alonso Treading a Precarious Tightrope at the Bernabéu Even With Dressing Room Backing.

No forward in the club's annals had gone failing to find the net for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but finally he was released and he had a statement to broadcast, performed for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in an extended drought and was beginning only his fifth game this campaign, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the opening goal against the English champions. Then he wheeled and sprinted towards the touchline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the coach on the edge for whom this could represent an even greater liberation.

“This is a tough time for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Performances aren't working out and I aimed to show everyone that we are united with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the advantage had been lost, a defeat following. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso noted. That can happen when you’re in a “sensitive” state, he continued, but at least Madrid had responded. On this occasion, they could not pull off a comeback. Endrick, on as a substitute having played very little all season, rattled the bar in the final seconds.

A Suspended Sentence

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo said. The question was whether it would be enough for Alonso to retain his role. “We didn't view it as [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was perceived internally. “We have shown that we’re supporting the manager: we have performed creditably, provided 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so the final decision was postponed, sentencing delayed, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A More Credible Type of Defeat

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second occasion in four days, extending their uninspiring streak to just two victories in eight, but this felt a little different. This was a European powerhouse, as opposed to a La Liga opponent. Streamlined, they had shown fight, the simplest and most damning criticism not levelled at them on this night. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a penalty, coming close to securing something at the final whistle. There were “a lot of very good things” about this showing, the manager argued, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, not this time.

The Stadium's Muted Response

That was not completely the case. There were spells 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 also sporadic clapping. But primarily, there was a subdued procession to the exits. “That’s normal, we understand it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso remarked: “There's nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were times when they applauded too.”

Player Support Stands Firm

“I sense the confidence of the players,” Alonso said. And if he stood by them, they backed him too, at least for the media. There has been a unification, conversations: the coach had listened to them, arguably more than they had adapted to him, finding common ground not precisely in the center.

How lasting a solution that is is still an open question. One little moment in the after-game press conference felt significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to do things his way, Alonso had let that implication to remain unanswered, responding: “I share a good connection with Pep, we know each other well and he is aware of what he is talking about.”

A Foundation of Fight

Most importantly though, he could be pleased that there was a resistance, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they defended him. Some of this may have been theatrical, done out of obligation or self-interest, but in this context, it was important. The intensity with which they played had been as well – even if there is a risk of the most fundamental of requirements somehow being promoted as a type of achievement.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a plan, that their failings were not his fault. “In my view my teammate Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The only way is [for] the players to improve the attitude. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have seen a shift.”

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

“We are continuing trying to work it out in the changing room,” he continued. “We understand that the [outside] chatter will not be beneficial so it is about trying to fix it in there.”

“I think the coach has been superb. I individually have a great rapport with him,” Bellingham added. “After the spell of games where we tied a few, we had some really great conversations among ourselves.”

“Everything concludes in the end,” Alonso concluded, possibly talking as much about adversity as everything.