Xabi Alonso Walking a Precarious Line at Madrid Even With Dressing Room Endorsement.

No attacker in Real Madrid’s annals had experienced without a goal for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but at last he was released and he had a message to broadcast, performed for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in nine months and was starting only his fifth appearance this term, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the lead against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he spun and ran towards the touchline to greet Xabi Alonso, the manager under pressure for whom this could represent an profound release.

“This is a difficult moment for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Things aren't working out and I aimed to demonstrate the public that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been lost, a setback ensuing. City had turned it around, taking 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso observed. That can transpire when you’re in a “fragile” situation, he continued, but at least Madrid had fought back. Ultimately, they could not pull off a recovery. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played 11 minutes all season, struck the crossbar in the closing stages.

A Reserved Sentence

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo conceded. The dilemma was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to keep his job. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We have shown that we’re supporting the manager: we have played well, given 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the axe was postponed, any action pending, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Distinct Type of Loss

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second time in four days, perpetuating their recent run to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this was a more respectable. This was a European powerhouse, rather than a La Liga opponent. Simplified, they had actually run, the easiest and most harsh charge not directed at them this time. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a spot-kick, nearly securing something at the death. There were “many of very good things” about this display, the head coach argued, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, tonight.

The Fans' Mixed Response

That was not always the case. There were spells in the closing 45 minutes, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the final whistle, a portion of supporters had continued, although there was also sporadic clapping. But primarily, there was a muted flow to the subway. “We understand that, we understand it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso stated: “There's nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were times when they clapped too.”

Dressing Room Unity Remains Evident

“I feel the backing of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he supported them, they supported him too, at least towards the public. There has been a coming together, conversations: the coach had listened to them, arguably more than they had embraced him, meeting a point not quite in the center.

Whether durable a solution that is remains an unresolved issue. One little incident in the after-game press conference seemed telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to do things his way, Alonso had allowed that notion to hang there, responding: “I have a good rapport with Pep, we know each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Foundation of Fight

Most importantly though, he could be pleased that there was a spirit, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they stood up for him. This support may have been for show, done out of professionalism or mutual survival, but in this tense environment, it was important. The commitment with which they played had been as well – even if there is a temptation of the most basic of expectations somehow being promoted as a form of positive.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a vision, that their mistakes were not his responsibility. “I think my teammate Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The key is [for] the players to change the approach. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have seen a change.”

Jude Bellingham, pressed if they were with the coach, also answered in numbers: “100%.”

“We persist in trying to solve it in the locker room,” he elaborated. “It's clear that the [outside] chatter will not be beneficial so it is about attempting to fix it in there.”

“Personally, I feel the manager has been superb. I personally have a excellent rapport with him,” Bellingham added. “After the run of games where we were held a few, we had some very productive conversations behind the scenes.”

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