Manager Alonso Treading a Fine Tightrope at the Bernabéu Amidst Squad Endorsement.

No attacker in Real Madrid’s record books had gone without a goal for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but finally he was freed and he had a message to broadcast, performed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in nine months and was commencing only his fifth game this campaign, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the opening goal against the English champions. Then he wheeled and sprinted towards the bench to embrace Xabi Alonso, the manager on the edge for whom this could signal an more significant relief.

“This is a difficult moment for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Performances aren't working out and I sought to show people that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the advantage had been surrendered, a defeat ensuing. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso remarked. That can transpire when you’re in a “fragile” condition, he added, but at least Madrid had reacted. Ultimately, they could not complete a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played 11 minutes all season, rattled the woodwork in the final seconds.

A Suspended Judgment

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo conceded. The dilemma was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to hold onto his role. “We didn't view it as [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “Our performance proved that we’re supporting the coach: we have performed creditably, offered 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so judgment was withheld, sentencing suspended, with games against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Different Kind of Setback

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second match in four days, extending their poor form to just two victories in eight, but this was a little different. This was the Premier League champions, not a La Liga opponent. Stripped down, they had shown fight, the simplest and most damning criticism not directed at them on this night. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a penalty, almost securing something at the final whistle. There were “many of very good things” about this performance, the boss said, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, on this occasion.

The Bernabéu's Muted Reception

That was not completely the complete picture. There were moments in the latter period, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At full time, some of supporters had done so again, although there was also some applause. But mostly, there was a quiet procession to the doors. “That’s normal, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso remarked: “It’s nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were times when they cheered too.”

Squad Unity Stands Strong

“I feel the confidence of the players,” Alonso said. And if he supported them, they backed him too, at least in front of the public. There has been a unification, talks: the coach had considered them, maybe more than they had embraced him, finding a point not quite in the center.

The longevity of a solution that is remains an open question. One little incident in the after-game press conference seemed significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to do things his way, Alonso had permitted that implication to remain unanswered, answering: “I have a good relationship with Pep, we understand each other well and he is aware of what he is implying.”

A Starting Point of Fight

Most importantly though, he could be pleased that there was a fight, a response. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they stood up for him. Part of it may have been for show, done out of professionalism or mutual survival, but in this tense environment, it was meaningful. The commitment with which they played had been too – even if there is a temptation of the most fundamental of requirements somehow being elevated as a type of success.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a plan, that their failings were not his responsibility. “I believe my colleague Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The key is [for] the players to improve the mindset. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have seen a change.”

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

“We’re still attempting to work it out in the locker room,” he continued. “We know that the [outside] chatter will not be productive so it is about attempting to sort it out in there.”

“I think the manager has been excellent. I myself have a strong relationship with him,” Bellingham added. “After the sequence of games where we tied a few, we had some very productive conversations behind the scenes.”

“All things ends in the end,” Alonso philosophized, possibly referring as much about adversity as everything.