Manager Alonso Walking a Precarious Path at Madrid Amidst Dressing Room Endorsement.

No offensive player in the club's annals had gone without a goal for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but eventually he was freed and he had a message to broadcast, executed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had not scored in an extended drought and was starting only his fifth match this season, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the lead against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he wheeled and sprinted towards the touchline to greet Xabi Alonso, the boss on the edge for whom this could represent an even greater relief.

“It’s a challenging moment for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Results aren't working out and I aimed to prove the public that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the advantage had been taken from them, a setback following. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso remarked. That can occur when you’re in a “sensitive” state, he added, but at least Madrid had reacted. This time, they could not pull off a turnaround. Endrick, on as a substitute having played a handful of minutes all season, hit the woodwork in the final seconds.

A Delayed Sentence

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo admitted. The dilemma was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to keep his position. “We didn't view it as [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We demonstrated that we’re behind the coach: we have performed creditably, given 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so judgment was postponed, any action suspended, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Distinct Type of Defeat

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second occasion in four days, extending their recent run to two wins in eight, but this seemed a little different. This was the Premier League champions, not a lesser opponent. Streamlined, they had competed with intensity, the easiest and most critical accusation not levelled at them on this night. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a penalty, almost earning something at the final whistle. There were “numerous of very good things” about this performance, the boss stated, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, on this occasion.

The Fans' Muted Response

That was not completely the case. There were periods in the closing 45 minutes, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had voiced its disapproval. At the conclusion, a section of supporters had done so again, although there was likewise sporadic clapping. But primarily, there was a subdued procession to the subway. “We understand that, we understand it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso stated: “This is nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were moments when they applauded too.”

Dressing Room Support Stands Firm

“I feel the backing of the players,” Alonso said. And if he stood by them, they backed him too, at least towards the media. There has been a rapprochement, talks: the coach had accommodated them, maybe more than they had accommodated him, reaching somewhere not quite in the compromise.

The longevity of a remedy that is continues to be an unresolved issue. One small exchange in the post-match press conference seemed significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to follow his own path, Alonso had allowed that implication to remain unanswered, answering: “I have a good connection with Pep, we know each other well and he understands what he is saying.”

A Starting Point of Resistance

Most importantly 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 publicly backed him. Part of it may have been for show, done out of obligation or self-interest, but in this climate, it was important. The commitment with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a danger of the most basic of standards somehow being framed as a kind of positive.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a strategy, that their mistakes were not his fault. “In my view my teammate Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The only way is [for] the players to improve the approach. The attitude is the key thing and today we have witnessed a shift.”

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

“We’re still striving to work it out in the locker room,” he continued. “We know that the [outside] chatter will not be productive so it is about striving to resolve it in there.”

“In my opinion the coach has been great. I individually have a great connection with him,” Bellingham concluded. “Following the sequence of games where we were held a few, we had some very productive conversations internally.”

“Everything ends in the end,” Alonso philosophized, possibly speaking as much about a difficult spell as anything else.