Alonso Walking a Fine Tightrope at Madrid Amidst Player Support.

No offensive player in the club's record books had experienced scoreless for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but finally he was released and he had a message to broadcast, executed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had been goalless in nine months and was commencing only his fifth appearance this campaign, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the lead against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he spun and sprinted towards the bench to hug Xabi Alonso, the manager in the spotlight for whom this could prove an more significant relief.

“This is a difficult time for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Things aren’t coming off and I wanted to demonstrate people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the lead had been taken from them, a setback ensuing. City had reversed the score, going 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso noted. That can occur when you’re in a “delicate” condition, he added, but at least Madrid had responded. Ultimately, they could not complete a turnaround. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played 11 minutes all season, struck the bar in the final seconds.

A Suspended Judgment

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo said. The dilemma was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to retain his position. “That wasn't our perception [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 understood behind closed doors. “Our performance proved that we’re with the manager: we have performed creditably, offered 100%,” Courtois added. And so the axe was withheld, any action suspended, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A Distinct Type of Defeat

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second match in four days, extending their recent run to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this felt a little different. This was the Premier League champions, rather than a lesser opponent. Simplified, they had competed with intensity, the simplest and most damning accusation not levelled at them on this night. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a penalty, coming close to securing something at the end. There were “many of very good things” about this display, the manager argued, and there could be “no blame” of his players, not this time.

The Bernabéu's Mixed Response

That was not completely the full story. There were spells in the latter period, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At full time, a section of supporters had repeated that, although there was in addition pockets of appreciation. But primarily, there was a quiet stream to the subway. “That’s normal, we understand it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso stated: “It’s nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were moments when they cheered too.”

Player Backing Remains Evident

“I sense the backing of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he supported them, they backed him too, at least towards the cameras. There has been a rapprochement, talks: the coach had considered them, maybe more than they had adapted to him, reaching somewhere not quite in the middle.

How lasting a fix that is continues to be an unresolved issue. One little incident in the after-game press conference seemed notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to follow his own path, Alonso had let that idea to hang there, responding: “I have a good connection with Pep, we know each other well and he is aware of what he is talking about.”

A Foundation of Reaction

Above all though, he could be satisfied that there was a fight, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they stood up for him. This support may have been for show, done out of professionalism or self-preservation, but in this tense environment, it was important. The effort with which they played had been as well – even if there is a danger of the most elementary of requirements somehow being promoted as a form of success.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a vision, that their mistakes were not his fault. “In my view my colleague Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The only way is [for] the players to alter the approach. The attitude is the key thing and today we have witnessed a change.”

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

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

“I think the gaffer has been excellent. I individually have a excellent relationship with him,” Bellingham added. “Following the run of games where we tied a few, we had some very productive conversations internally.”

“Everything passes in the end,” Alonso concluded, possibly speaking as much about a difficult spell as everything.