Manager Alonso Treading a Thin Path at the Bernabéu Amidst Player Endorsement.

No attacker in the club's record books had gone scoreless for as long as Rodrygo, but finally he was unleashed and he had a declaration to deliver, performed for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in nine months and was starting only his fifth match this season, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the lead against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he wheeled and sprinted towards the touchline to hug Xabi Alonso, the coach on the edge for whom this could represent an profound liberation.

“This is a tough time for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Performances aren’t coming off and I aimed to prove the public that we are united with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been surrendered, a setback ensuing. City had turned it around, going 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso remarked. That can happen when you’re in a “delicate” condition, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had fought back. On this occasion, they could not pull off a comeback. Endrick, brought on having played 11 minutes all season, hit the crossbar in the dying moments.

A Suspended Verdict

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo said. The question was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to hold onto his job. “We didn’t feel that [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 felt privately. “Our performance proved that we’re behind the coach: we have played well, offered 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so judgment was postponed, sentencing suspended, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Different Kind of Loss

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second occasion in four days, perpetuating their uninspiring streak to just two victories in eight, but this felt a little different. This was the Premier League champions, as opposed to a La Liga opponent. Stripped down, they had shown fight, the simplest and most damning criticism not directed at them on this night. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a converted penalty, coming close to salvaging something at the end. There were “a lot of very good things” about this display, the manager argued, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, tonight.

The Fans' Mixed Response

That was not always the full story. There were spells in the latter period, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had voiced its disapproval. At the final whistle, a section of supporters had done so again, although there was in addition some applause. But for the most part, there was a subdued procession to the subway. “We understand that, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso added: “This is nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were instances when they applauded too.”

Dressing Room Backing Stands Strong

“I sense the confidence of the players,” Alonso said. And if he supported them, they supported him too, at least towards the public. There has been a unification, conversations: the coach had considered them, perhaps more than they had adapted to him, meeting a point not quite in the center.

The longevity of a fix that is remains an unresolved issue. One seemingly minor exchange in the after-game press conference seemed significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to follow his own path, Alonso had permitted that implication to hang there, answering: “I share a good connection with Pep, we know each other well and he is aware of what he is implying.”

A Starting Point of Fight

Crucially 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 stood up for him. Some of this may have been for show, done out of duty or self-interest, but in this climate, it was significant. The commitment with which they played had been as well – even if there is a risk of the most fundamental of requirements somehow being elevated as a kind of achievement.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a plan, that their failings were not his responsibility. “I think my colleague Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The key is [for] the players to change the mindset. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have witnessed a change.”

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

“We’re still attempting to figure it out in the dressing room,” he continued. “It's clear that the [outside] speculation will not be beneficial so it is about striving to sort it out in there.”

“I think the coach has been excellent. I myself have a excellent connection with him,” Bellingham stated. “Following the sequence of games where we tied a few, we had some really great conversations behind the scenes.”

“All things ends in the end,” Alonso philosophized, perhaps referring as much about a difficult spell as his own predicament.