Xabi Alonso Walking a Precarious Tightrope at Real Madrid Despite Dressing Room Backing.

No forward in Real Madrid’s history had gone failing to find the net for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but eventually he was freed and he had a declaration to broadcast, executed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had not scored in an extended drought and was starting only his fifth match this term, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the opening goal against the English champions. Then he wheeled and charged towards the sideline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the manager under pressure for whom this could represent an profound relief.

“This is a challenging period for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Things are not going our way and I wanted to prove people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been lost, a setback ensuing. City had come back, taking 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso observed. That can happen when you’re in a “fragile” state, he continued, but at least Madrid had fought back. Ultimately, they could not pull off a comeback. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played 11 minutes all season, hit the woodwork in the closing stages.

A Reserved Judgment

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo conceded. The issue was whether it would be enough for Alonso to retain his job. “We didn’t feel that [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 perceived internally. “We have shown that we’re supporting the manager: we have given a good account, offered 100%,” Courtois added. And so judgment was reserved, sentencing pending, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Different Type of Defeat

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second time in four days, continuing their poor form to just two victories in eight, but this was a little different. This was a European powerhouse, rather than a domestic opponent. Stripped down, they had shown fight, the simplest and most critical charge not directed at them this time. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a penalty, almost salvaging something at the end. There were “numerous of very good things” about this showing, the manager said, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, on this occasion.

The Bernabéu's Ambivalent Reception

That was not entirely the case. There were moments in the second half, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had voiced its disapproval. At the final whistle, a portion of supporters had repeated that, although there was also pockets of appreciation. But primarily, there was a subdued flow to the doors. “That’s normal, we accept it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso stated: “There's nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were moments when they applauded too.”

Squad Backing Is Evident

“I sense the support of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he supported them, they stood by him too, at least in front of the media. There has been a rapprochement, conversations: the coach had considered them, arguably more than they had adapted to him, finding somewhere not precisely in the compromise.

How lasting a solution that is remains an unresolved issue. One small moment in the after-game press conference appeared notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to do things his way, Alonso had let that notion to linger, replying: “I share a good connection with Pep, we know each other well and he understands what he is implying.”

A Foundation of Fight

Most importantly though, he could be pleased that there was a spirit, a response. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they publicly backed him. Part of it may have been performative, done out of duty or self-interest, but in this tense environment, it was meaningful. The effort with which they played had been too – even if there is a temptation of the most basic of standards somehow being promoted as a form of achievement.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a vision, that their failings were not his responsibility. “In my view my teammate Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The only way is [for] the players to change the approach. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have seen a difference.”

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

“We’re still striving to work it out in the changing room,” he said. “We understand that the [outside] noise will not be productive so it is about attempting to resolve it in there.”

“I think the manager has been excellent. I individually have a excellent rapport with him,” Bellingham concluded. “After the sequence of games where we drew a few, we had some honest conversations internally.”

“All things passes in the end,” Alonso concluded, possibly talking as much about poor form as anything else.