Alonso Walking a Fine Tightrope at the Bernabéu Amidst Squad Endorsement.

No attacker in Real Madrid’s history had endured without a goal for as long as Rodrygo, but eventually he was released and he had a statement to broadcast, performed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had been goalless in an extended drought and was commencing only his fifth game this campaign, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the advantage against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he wheeled and ran towards the sideline to greet Xabi Alonso, the boss on the edge for whom this could signal an more significant release.

“This is a challenging moment for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Things are not going our way and I wanted to show the public that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the lead had been taken from them, a defeat ensuing. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso observed. That can occur when you’re in a “delicate” state, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had reacted. Ultimately, they could not engineer a comeback. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played a handful of minutes all season, struck the bar in the closing stages.

A Reserved Sentence

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo said. The issue was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to keep his position. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We demonstrated that we’re with the coach: we have given a good account, given 100%,” Courtois added. And so the axe was postponed, consequences pending, with games against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Distinct Kind of Setback

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second occasion in four days, perpetuating their uninspiring streak to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this was a somewhat distinct. This was a European powerhouse, as opposed to a domestic opponent. Streamlined, they had competed with intensity, the simplest and most damning charge not levelled at them in this instance. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a converted penalty, almost salvaging something at the end. There were “many of very good things” about this performance, the head coach stated, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, tonight.

The Stadium's Ambivalent Response

That was not completely the complete picture. There were periods in the latter period, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the final whistle, a portion of supporters had done so again, although there was also sporadic clapping. But primarily, there was a quiet stream to the doors. “That’s normal, we accept it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso stated: “It’s nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were moments when they applauded too.”

Dressing Room Support Remains Evident

“I feel the confidence of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he backed them, they stood by him too, at least towards the public. There has been a coming together, discussions: the coach had considered them, perhaps more than they had embraced him, reaching somewhere not quite in the compromise.

The longevity of a fix that is is still an open question. One little incident in the post-match press conference felt notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to do things his way, Alonso had allowed that idea to hang there, replying: “I have a good connection with Pep, we know each other well and he understands what he is implying.”

A Basis of Fight

Crucially though, he could be pleased that there was a spirit, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they publicly backed him. This support may have been performative, done out of professionalism or self-interest, but in this climate, it was important. The intensity with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a risk of the most elementary of expectations somehow being promoted as a form of achievement.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a vision, that their mistakes were not his doing. “In my view my colleague Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to alter the mindset. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have witnessed a shift.”

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

“We’re still attempting to solve it in the locker room,” he elaborated. “We know that the [outside] noise will not be helpful so it is about trying to fix it in there.”

“I think the coach has been great. I personally have a great relationship with him,” Bellingham stated. “Following the spell of games where we tied a few, we had some honest conversations internally.”

“All things ends in the end,” Alonso mused, possibly referring as much about adversity as his own predicament.