Xabi Alonso Treading a Thin Line at Real Madrid Amidst Player Endorsement.

No offensive player in Real Madrid’s history had gone failing to find the net for as long as Rodrygo, but eventually he was freed and he had a statement to deliver, performed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in nine months and was commencing only his fifth match this term, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the advantage against Manchester City. Then he wheeled and sprinted towards the bench to hug Xabi Alonso, the boss under pressure for whom this could represent an more significant liberation.

“This is a challenging time for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Things aren’t coming off and I wanted to prove people that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the lead had been lost, another loss ensuing. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso observed. That can occur when you’re in a “fragile” state, he continued, but at least Madrid had fought back. On this occasion, they could not engineer a comeback. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played very little all season, hit the woodwork in the closing stages.

A Suspended Verdict

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo said. The dilemma was whether it would be enough for Alonso to keep his role. “We didn't view it as [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was felt privately. “We have shown that we’re behind the coach: we have performed creditably, offered 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so the final decision was reserved, any action pending, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A More Credible Form of Loss

Madrid had been overcome 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 little different. This was the Premier League champions, as opposed to a La Liga opponent. Streamlined, they had actually run, the easiest and most harsh accusation not aimed at them on this night. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a converted penalty, nearly salvaging something at the end. There were “numerous of very good things” about this showing, the manager stated, and there could be “no blame” of his players, not this time.

The Bernabéu's Mixed Response

That was not always the complete picture. There were periods in the second half, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the conclusion, some of supporters had repeated that, although there was also some applause. But primarily, there was a muted stream to the doors. “It's to be expected, we accept it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso remarked: “This is nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were times when they clapped too.”

Player Support Stands Strong

“I have the support of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he backed them, they stood by him too, at least for the public. There has been a unification, discussions: the coach had accommodated them, perhaps more than they had adapted to him, meeting somewhere not quite in the center.

The longevity of a fix that is continues to be an open question. One small moment in the after-game press conference felt notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to do things his way, Alonso had allowed that implication to hang there, answering: “I have a good rapport with Pep, we know each other well and he understands what he is talking about.”

A Starting Point of Resistance

Most importantly though, he could be pleased that there was a spirit, a response. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they publicly backed him. This support may have been for show, done out of professionalism or self-preservation, but in this climate, it was significant. The effort with which they played had been too – even if there is a risk of the most elementary of standards somehow being elevated as a kind of success.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a vision, that their mistakes were not his fault. “I believe my teammate Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The key is [for] the players to alter the mindset. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have witnessed a shift.”

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

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

“In my opinion the coach has been superb. I myself have a excellent relationship with him,” Bellingham concluded. “After the sequence of games where we drew a few, we had some really great conversations internally.”

“Every situation passes in the end,” Alonso mused, maybe speaking as much about poor form as his own predicament.