Manager Alonso Treading a Thin Path at Real Madrid Despite Squad Backing.

No forward in the club's history had gone failing to find the net for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but eventually he was unleashed and he had a statement to deliver, performed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had been goalless in almost a year and was commencing only his fifth game this campaign, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the advantage against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he turned and charged towards the bench to greet Xabi Alonso, the manager under pressure for whom this could represent an more significant relief.

“It’s a challenging period for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Results are not going our way and I sought to demonstrate everyone that we are united with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the lead had been taken from them, another loss following. City had reversed the score, going 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso remarked. That can happen when you’re in a “delicate” state, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had reacted. This time, they could not complete a turnaround. Endrick, on as a substitute having played 11 minutes all season, struck the crossbar in the dying moments.

A Reserved Judgment

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo said. The dilemma was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to hold onto his job. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was felt privately. “Our performance proved that we’re with the manager: we have performed creditably, provided 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so the axe was reserved, sentencing pending, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A More Credible Kind of Loss

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second match in four days, extending their recent run to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this was a little different. This was the Premier League champions, rather than a lesser opponent. Stripped down, they had competed with intensity, the simplest and most harsh accusation not aimed at them this time. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a penalty, almost earning something at the final whistle. There were “many of very good things” about this performance, the head coach argued, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, tonight.

The Stadium's Muted Reaction

That was not always the complete picture. There were periods in the latter period, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the final whistle, a portion of supporters had repeated that, although there was also pockets of appreciation. But mostly, there was a subdued stream to the exits. “We understand that, we accept it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso remarked: “This is nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were instances when they cheered too.”

Player Backing Is Evident

“I sense the support of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he supported them, they stood by him too, at least towards the cameras. There has been a coming together, conversations: the coach had listened to them, perhaps more than they had adapted to him, meeting common ground not quite in the compromise.

The longevity of a fix that is is still an open question. One little incident in the after-game press conference appeared telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to follow his own path, Alonso had permitted that idea to remain unanswered, replying: “I share a good rapport with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is implying.”

A Foundation of Fight

Above all though, he could be satisfied that there was a fight, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they stood up for him. Some of this may have been for show, done out of obligation or self-preservation, but in this tense environment, it was important. The intensity with which they played had been as well – even if there is a risk of the most basic of expectations somehow being promoted as a kind of success.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a strategy, that their mistakes were not his fault. “I think my colleague Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The only way is [for] the players to change the mindset. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have witnessed a difference.”

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

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

“Personally, I feel the gaffer has been excellent. I individually have a excellent relationship with him,” Bellingham concluded. “After the sequence of games where we drew a few, we had some really great conversations among ourselves.”

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