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

No offensive player in Real Madrid’s record books had endured without a goal for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but finally he was released and he had a declaration to broadcast, acted out for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in an extended drought and was beginning only his fifth appearance this campaign, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the advantage against the English champions. Then he wheeled and ran towards the bench to greet Xabi Alonso, the manager on the edge for whom this could signal an even greater release.

“It’s a tough moment for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Results aren’t coming off and I wanted to show the public that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the advantage had been surrendered, a defeat ensuing. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso remarked. That can happen when you’re in a “delicate” situation, he continued, but at least Madrid had reacted. This time, they could not engineer a turnaround. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played 11 minutes all season, hit the woodwork in the final seconds.

A Reserved Sentence

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo admitted. The question was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to keep his role. “We didn’t feel that [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 understood behind closed doors. “Our performance proved that we’re behind the coach: we have played well, provided 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the final decision was withheld, any action pending, with games against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A More Credible Form of Loss

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second match in four days, perpetuating their poor form to two wins in eight, but this was a somewhat distinct. This was a European powerhouse, rather than a domestic opponent. Simplified, they had competed with intensity, the most obvious and most critical charge not directed at them this time. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a converted penalty, coming close to securing something at the death. There were “a lot of very good things” about this display, the boss stated, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, not this time.

The Bernabéu's Muted Response

That was not entirely the full story. There were spells in the second half, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had voiced its disapproval. At full time, some of supporters had continued, although there was in addition pockets of appreciation. But mostly, there was a subdued procession to the doors. “It's to be expected, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso added: “There's nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were instances when they clapped too.”

Dressing Room Support Remains Firm

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

How lasting a solution that is continues to be an unresolved issue. One seemingly minor moment in the after-game press conference seemed significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to follow his own path, Alonso had allowed that implication to hang there, responding: “I have a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Starting Point of Reaction

Crucially though, he could be pleased that there was a fight, a response. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they publicly backed him. Part of it may have been theatrical, done out of obligation or self-interest, 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 promoted as a form of success.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a plan, that their shortcomings were not his fault. “I believe my teammate Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The only way is [for] the players to change the attitude. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have observed a difference.”

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

“We’re still striving to solve it in the dressing room,” he continued. “We understand that the [outside] speculation will not be productive so it is about attempting to resolve it in there.”

“In my opinion the manager has been superb. I individually have a excellent connection with him,” Bellingham concluded. “After the run of games where we were held a few, we had some honest conversations behind the scenes.”

“Every situation concludes in the end,” Alonso mused, maybe talking as much about a difficult spell as anything else.