Alonso Walking a Fine Tightrope at Madrid Even With Squad Support.

No offensive player in Los Blancos' record books had experienced scoreless for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but finally he was unleashed and he had a statement to deliver, acted out for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in almost a year and was commencing only his fifth appearance this term, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the advantage against the English champions. Then he turned and sprinted towards the bench to greet Xabi Alonso, the boss under pressure for whom this could signal an more significant relief.

“It’s a difficult moment for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Results aren’t coming off and I wanted to demonstrate everyone that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the advantage had been taken from them, a setback ensuing. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso observed. That can transpire when you’re in a “sensitive” situation, he continued, but at least Madrid had reacted. Ultimately, they could not engineer a recovery. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played very little all season, struck the crossbar in the closing stages.

A Reserved Verdict

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo said. The dilemma was whether it would be enough for Alonso to hold onto his job. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We demonstrated that we’re supporting the manager: we have given a good account, provided 100%,” Courtois added. And so the axe was withheld, any action pending, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A More Credible Type of Loss

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second occasion in four days, extending their uninspiring streak to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this felt a more respectable. This was a European powerhouse, as opposed to a La Liga opponent. Stripped down, they had actually run, the simplest and most critical charge not levelled at them this time. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a penalty, coming close to securing something at the end. There were “many of very good things” about this showing, the manager said, and there could be “no blame” of his players, on this occasion.

The Stadium's Mixed Reaction

That was not always the case. There were moments in the second half, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the final whistle, a portion of supporters had continued, although there was likewise some applause. But primarily, there was a subdued procession to the doors. “We understand that, we accept it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso remarked: “It’s nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were times when they cheered too.”

Player Backing Remains Firm

“I feel the confidence of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he backed them, they stood by him too, at least in front of the media. There has been a rapprochement, talks: the coach had listened to them, arguably more than they had adapted to him, meeting a point not quite in the center.

Whether durable a solution that is is still an open question. One seemingly minor exchange in the after-game press conference felt significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to stick to his principles, Alonso had allowed that implication to remain unanswered, responding: “I share a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he understands what he is saying.”

A Basis of Fight

Above all though, he could be content that there was a spirit, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they defended him. Some of this may have been performative, done out of duty or self-interest, but in this climate, it was meaningful. The intensity with which they played had been too – even if there is a temptation of the most elementary of expectations somehow being promoted as a kind of success.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a strategy, that their shortcomings were not his fault. “I believe my colleague Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The only way is [for] the players to alter the approach. The attitude is the key thing and today we have seen a change.”

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

“We are continuing attempting to solve it in the dressing room,” he said. “We know that the [outside] noise will not be productive so it is about striving to sort it out in there.”

“Personally, I feel the gaffer has been great. I personally have a great rapport with him,” Bellingham added. “Following the run of games where we were held a few, we had some honest conversations internally.”

“Everything concludes in the end,” Alonso mused, maybe speaking as much about a difficult spell as his own predicament.