Alonso Navigating a Thin Tightrope at Real Madrid Even With Player Endorsement.

No forward in the club's record books had endured failing to find the net for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but finally he was released and he had a declaration to broadcast, acted out for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had not scored in nine months and was beginning only his fifth appearance this season, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the opening goal against Manchester City. Then he spun and charged towards the sideline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the manager under pressure for whom this could prove an profound liberation.

“It’s a challenging time for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Results aren’t coming off and I wanted to prove people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the lead had been lost, a defeat ensuing. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso observed. That can transpire when you’re in a “sensitive” state, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had fought back. Ultimately, they could not pull off a comeback. Endrick, on as a substitute having played very little all season, hit the bar in the final seconds.

A Reserved Judgment

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo admitted. The dilemma was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to retain his role. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “Our performance proved that we’re behind the manager: we have given a good account, given 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so judgment was postponed, consequences pending, with games against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Different Type of Setback

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second time in four days, continuing their recent run to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this was a more respectable. This was the Premier League champions, rather than a domestic opponent. Streamlined, they had actually run, the most obvious and most damning criticism not aimed at them in this instance. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a penalty, almost securing something at the end. There were “many of very good things” about this display, the boss argued, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, tonight.

The Stadium's Mixed Reception

That was not completely the complete picture. There were spells in the second half, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the final whistle, a section of supporters had continued, although there was in addition pockets of appreciation. But for the most part, there was a quiet stream to the exits. “We understand that, we understand it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso stated: “It’s nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were moments when they cheered too.”

Dressing Room Support Stands Evident

“I feel the backing of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he stood by them, they backed him too, at least for the cameras. There has been a coming together, discussions: the coach had considered them, perhaps more than they had embraced him, finding somewhere not exactly in the center.

How lasting a solution that is is still an open question. One small exchange in the after-game press conference felt significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to stick to his principles, Alonso had let that implication to linger, responding: “I share a good rapport with Pep, we know each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Basis of Fight

Most importantly though, he could be satisfied that there was a resistance, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they defended him. This support may have been performative, done out of obligation or self-preservation, but in this context, it was meaningful. The effort with which they played had been as well – even if there is a temptation of the most fundamental of expectations somehow being elevated as a type of success.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a vision, that their mistakes were not his responsibility. “In my view my teammate Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The key is [for] the players to change the attitude. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have observed a change.”

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

“We’re still striving to work it out in the dressing room,” he continued. “It's clear that the [outside] noise will not be productive so it is about striving to resolve it in there.”

“In my opinion the coach has been excellent. I individually have a strong rapport with him,” Bellingham stated. “After the sequence of games where we drew a few, we had some honest conversations behind the scenes.”

“Every situation concludes in the end,” Alonso mused, possibly speaking as much about adversity as anything else.