Manager Alonso Treading a Fine Line at the Bernabéu Even With Player Backing.

No offensive player in Los Blancos' history had experienced without a goal for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but eventually he was freed and he had a declaration to send, performed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had not scored in an extended drought and was starting only his fifth game this season, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the opening goal against the English champions. Then he wheeled and ran towards the touchline to hug Xabi Alonso, the coach on the edge for whom this could prove an even greater relief.

“This is a challenging moment for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Performances aren't working out and I wanted to demonstrate the public that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been lost, another loss following. City had reversed the score, going 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso noted. That can occur when you’re in a “sensitive” situation, he continued, but at least Madrid had reacted. On this occasion, they could not complete a comeback. Endrick, on as a substitute having played very little all season, rattled the bar in the dying moments.

A Reserved Verdict

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo admitted. The question was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to hold onto his position. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was perceived internally. “We have shown that we’re supporting the manager: we have performed creditably, offered 100%,” Courtois added. And so judgment was reserved, sentencing delayed, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Different Kind of Setback

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second time in four days, continuing their uninspiring streak to two wins in eight, but this was a somewhat distinct. This was Manchester City, as opposed to a La Liga opponent. Streamlined, they had competed with intensity, the most obvious and most critical charge not levelled at them this time. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a converted penalty, coming close to securing something at the end. There were “a lot of very good things” about this showing, the manager argued, and there could be “no blame” of his players, on this occasion.

The Stadium's Ambivalent Reception

That was not always the full story. There were moments in the second half, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the final whistle, a portion of supporters had done so again, although there was also pockets of appreciation. But mostly, there was a muted procession to the doors. “We understand that, we understand it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso stated: “It’s nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were moments when they cheered too.”

Player Support Remains Firm

“I sense the support of the players,” Alonso said. And if he backed them, they supported him too, at least for the cameras. There has been a rapprochement, conversations: the coach had considered them, maybe more than they had accommodated him, reaching common ground not exactly in the compromise.

The longevity of a solution that is remains an open question. One little incident in the post-match press conference appeared significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to do things his way, Alonso had permitted that idea to linger, responding: “I have a good rapport with Pep, we know each other well and he is aware of what he is talking about.”

A Starting Point of Fight

Above all though, he could be content that there was a fight, a response. 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 duty or self-preservation, but in this context, it was meaningful. The commitment with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a temptation of the most fundamental of requirements somehow being framed as a kind of achievement.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a vision, that their shortcomings were not his responsibility. “I believe my colleague Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The key is [for] the players to improve the attitude. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have seen a difference.”

Jude Bellingham, questioned if they were with the coach, also answered quantitatively: “100%.”

“We’re still striving to solve it in the changing room,” he continued. “We understand that the [outside] speculation will not be helpful so it is about trying to fix it in there.”

“Personally, I feel the coach has been excellent. I individually have a excellent rapport with him,” Bellingham concluded. “Following the sequence of games where we were held a few, we had some honest conversations among ourselves.”

“All things passes in the end,” Alonso philosophized, possibly talking as much about poor form as his own predicament.