Xabi Alonso Treading a Fine Path at the Bernabéu Even With Dressing Room Endorsement.

No offensive player in the club's history had endured failing to find the net for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but finally he was released and he had a declaration to broadcast, acted out for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in nine months and was commencing only his fifth game this term, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the lead against Manchester City. Then he spun and ran towards the bench to greet Xabi Alonso, the manager under pressure for whom this could represent an profound relief.

“It’s a tough period for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Results are not going our way and I wanted to show people that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the lead had been lost, a defeat taking its place. City had come back, taking 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso noted. That can happen when you’re in a “delicate” state, he continued, but at least Madrid had responded. Ultimately, they could not engineer a recovery. Endrick, on as a substitute having played a handful of minutes all season, rattled the crossbar in the final seconds.

A Suspended Verdict

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo conceded. The dilemma was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to retain his position. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was perceived internally. “Our performance proved that we’re behind the manager: we have played well, provided 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the axe was reserved, consequences delayed, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Distinct Type of Loss

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second match in four days, extending their poor form to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this seemed a somewhat distinct. This was Manchester City, as opposed to a La Liga opponent. Stripped down, they had competed with intensity, the most obvious and most damning criticism not aimed at them in this instance. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a converted penalty, coming close to securing something at the final whistle. There were “many of very good things” about this performance, the manager stated, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, not this time.

The Bernabéu's Muted Reception

That was not always the full story. There were moments in the closing 45 minutes, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the conclusion, a portion of supporters had repeated that, although there was likewise some applause. But mostly, there was a muted flow to the exits. “It's to be expected, we understand it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso remarked: “It’s nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were instances when they clapped too.”

Dressing Room Support Is Evident

“I have the backing of the players,” Alonso said. And if he stood by them, they supported him too, at least in front of the public. There has been a coming together, discussions: the coach had considered them, maybe more than they had adapted to him, meeting a point not precisely in the middle.

The longevity of a fix that is continues to be an open question. One seemingly minor incident in the post-match press conference felt significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to do things his way, Alonso had allowed that implication to hang there, answering: “I have a good relationship with Pep, we understand each other well and he is aware of what he is talking about.”

A Foundation of Resistance

Crucially though, he could be pleased that there was a resistance, a response. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they publicly backed him. Some of this may have been performative, done out of professionalism or self-preservation, but in this context, it was significant. The intensity with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a temptation of the most basic of requirements somehow being elevated as a kind of success.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a vision, that their shortcomings were not his doing. “I think my teammate Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The only way is [for] the players to alter the attitude. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have observed a shift.”

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

“We’re still striving to work it out in the changing room,” he said. “We know that the [outside] noise will not be helpful so it is about trying to sort it out in there.”

“In my opinion the manager has been superb. I myself have a great connection with him,” Bellingham added. “Following the run of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations among ourselves.”

“All things ends in the end,” Alonso philosophized, maybe talking as much about adversity as his own predicament.