Alonso Treading a Precarious Path at the Bernabéu Despite Player Endorsement.

No attacker in the club's annals had endured failing to find the net for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but at last he was released and he had a statement to broadcast, performed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in an extended drought and was commencing only his fifth game this term, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the advantage against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he wheeled and ran towards the bench to embrace Xabi Alonso, the boss in the spotlight for whom this could signal an profound relief.

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

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the advantage had been surrendered, another loss ensuing. City had turned it around, taking 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso observed. That can happen when you’re in a “delicate” state, he continued, but at least Madrid had reacted. Ultimately, they could not pull off a comeback. Endrick, brought on having played very little all season, struck the woodwork in the dying moments.

A Delayed Verdict

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo admitted. The question was whether it would be enough for Alonso to hold onto his position. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We have shown that we’re with the coach: we have performed creditably, given 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so judgment was withheld, consequences suspended, with games against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Different Form of Defeat

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second occasion in four days, continuing their uninspiring streak to just two victories in eight, but this seemed a more respectable. This was Manchester City, not a La Liga opponent. Streamlined, they had competed with intensity, the easiest and most harsh charge not directed at them in this instance. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a penalty, coming close to salvaging something at the death. There were “many of very good things” about this display, the boss stated, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, not this time.

The Bernabéu's Mixed Reception

That was not completely the case. There were moments in the second half, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the conclusion, a section of supporters had repeated that, although there was likewise some applause. But for the most part, there was a muted procession to the doors. “It's to be expected, we understand it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso remarked: “It’s nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were instances when they cheered too.”

Player Support Stands Firm

“I have the support of the players,” Alonso said. And if he stood by them, they backed him too, at least for the public. There has been a coming together, conversations: the coach had listened to them, perhaps more than they had embraced him, finding a point not precisely in the center.

Whether durable a remedy that is is still an unresolved issue. One little exchange in the after-game press conference seemed notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to stick to his principles, Alonso had allowed that implication to hang there, answering: “I have a good relationship with Pep, we know each other well and he understands what he is saying.”

A Starting Point of Resistance

Above all though, he could be content that there was a fight, a response. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they defended him. Some of this may have been performative, done out of professionalism or self-interest, but in this climate, it was meaningful. The effort with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a risk of the most basic of expectations somehow being elevated as a type of positive.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued 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 attitude. The attitude is the key thing and today we have witnessed a change.”

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

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

“In my opinion the gaffer has been excellent. I personally have a excellent rapport with him,” Bellingham added. “Following the sequence of games where we drew a few, we had some honest conversations among ourselves.”

“Everything passes in the end,” Alonso philosophized, maybe referring as much about poor form as anything else.