Manager Alonso Treading a Thin Tightrope at Real Madrid Despite Player Support.

No attacker in Real Madrid’s annals had gone scoreless for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but eventually he was unleashed and he had a declaration to send, executed for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in almost a year and was starting only his fifth appearance this term, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the opening goal against Manchester City. Then he wheeled and ran towards the bench to embrace Xabi Alonso, the manager under pressure for whom this could signal an even greater relief.

“This is a tough time for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Performances aren't working out and I sought to show everyone that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the advantage had been surrendered, a setback taking its place. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso noted. That can occur when you’re in a “sensitive” condition, he added, but at least Madrid had responded. Ultimately, they could not pull off a comeback. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played 11 minutes all season, hit the bar in the dying moments.

A Suspended Sentence

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo admitted. The question was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to retain his position. “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 presented externally, and how it was perceived internally. “We have shown that we’re behind the coach: we have played well, provided 100%,” Courtois added. And so judgment was postponed, consequences suspended, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Distinct Type of Setback

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second occasion in four days, continuing their poor form to just two victories in eight, but this felt a more respectable. This was a European powerhouse, as opposed to a domestic opponent. Simplified, they had actually run, the simplest and most critical accusation not levelled at them on this night. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a converted penalty, nearly salvaging something at the end. There were “a lot of very good things” about this display, the manager said, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, not this time.

The Bernabéu's Ambivalent Reaction

That was not completely the full story. There were spells in the latter period, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the conclusion, a section of supporters had repeated that, although there was in addition some applause. But primarily, there was a muted stream to the subway. “It's to be expected, we understand it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso added: “There's nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were moments when they cheered too.”

Squad Support Is Strong

“I sense the support of the players,” Alonso said. And if he supported them, they supported him too, at least towards the media. There has been a rapprochement, talks: the coach had considered them, perhaps more than they had accommodated him, meeting common ground not exactly in the compromise.

The longevity of a fix that is is still an unresolved issue. One small incident in the post-match press conference seemed significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to follow his own path, Alonso had permitted that notion to linger, answering: “I share a good rapport with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is implying.”

A Basis of Resistance

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 publicly backed him. This support may have been performative, done out of duty or self-interest, but in this tense environment, it was important. 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 form of achievement.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a strategy, that their shortcomings were not his doing. “I believe my teammate Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The key is [for] the players to change the mindset. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have observed a change.”

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

“We are continuing striving to solve it in the dressing room,” he elaborated. “It's clear that the [outside] chatter will not be productive so it is about attempting to sort it out in there.”

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

“Everything concludes in the end,” Alonso concluded, perhaps speaking as much about poor form as anything else.