Alonso Navigating a Precarious Path at the Bernabéu Amidst Squad Backing.

No attacker in the club's annals had gone failing to find the net for as long as Rodrygo, but eventually he was released and he had a declaration to send, performed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in almost a year and was beginning only his fifth match this term, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the opening goal against the English champions. Then he wheeled and sprinted towards the bench to embrace Xabi Alonso, the manager in the spotlight for whom this could prove an profound relief.

“It’s a tough period for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Performances aren’t coming off and I wanted to demonstrate people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been surrendered, a defeat following. City had turned it around, going 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso observed. That can occur when you’re in a “delicate” condition, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had responded. This time, they could not pull off a comeback. Endrick, on as a substitute having played a handful of minutes all season, rattled the bar in the dying moments.

A Suspended Judgment

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo said. The issue was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to hold onto his role. “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 framed publicly, and how it was perceived internally. “We have shown that we’re with the coach: we have given a good account, offered 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the axe was reserved, consequences suspended, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A More Credible Type of Loss

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second occasion in four days, extending their recent run to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this felt a more respectable. This was Manchester City, as opposed to a domestic opponent. Streamlined, they had shown fight, the most obvious and most critical accusation not aimed at them this time. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a penalty, coming close to securing something at the end. There were “a lot of very good things” about this showing, the boss argued, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, not this time.

The Bernabéu's Mixed Response

That was not always the case. There were periods in the second half, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the final whistle, a portion of supporters had done so again, although there was also sporadic clapping. But primarily, there was a subdued flow to the exits. “We understand that, we accept it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso added: “There's nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were times when they applauded too.”

Dressing Room Backing Stands Firm

“I feel the support of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he stood by them, they backed him too, at least towards the cameras. There has been a rapprochement, discussions: the coach had listened to them, perhaps more than they had adapted to him, meeting a point not exactly in the center.

The longevity of a remedy that is is still an open question. One little incident in the post-match press conference felt telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to follow his own path, Alonso had let that notion to remain unanswered, responding: “I have a good rapport with Pep, we know each other well and he understands what he is saying.”

A Basis of Resistance

Most importantly though, he could be content that there was a resistance, a response. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they defended him. Some of this may have been for show, done out of professionalism or self-preservation, but in this tense environment, it was meaningful. The effort with which they played had been too – even if there is a danger of the most basic of requirements somehow being promoted as a kind of success.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a vision, that their shortcomings were not his doing. “In my view my teammate Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to change the approach. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have witnessed a difference.”

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

“We are continuing trying to figure it out in the dressing room,” he said. “We know that the [outside] noise will not be helpful so it is about attempting to fix it in there.”

“I think the coach has been superb. I myself have a strong relationship with him,” Bellingham concluded. “After the spell of games where we tied a few, we had some really great conversations internally.”

“Everything concludes in the end,” Alonso concluded, maybe speaking as much about adversity as his own predicament.