Alonso Navigating a Thin Tightrope at the Bernabéu Even With Player Backing.

No forward in the club's record books had gone scoreless for as long as Rodrygo, but at last he was unleashed and he had a message to deliver, executed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in nine months and was commencing only his fifth appearance this campaign, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the advantage against the English champions. Then he wheeled and sprinted towards the sideline to hug Xabi Alonso, the coach under pressure for whom this could represent an even greater relief.

“It’s a tough time for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Things aren’t coming off and I wanted to demonstrate the public that we are united with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been surrendered, a setback taking its place. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso noted. That can occur when you’re in a “fragile” state, he added, but at least Madrid had reacted. On this occasion, they could not complete a comeback. Endrick, on as a substitute having played a handful of minutes all season, struck the bar in the final seconds.

A Reserved Judgment

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo said. The issue was whether it would be enough for Alonso to hold onto his position. “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 felt privately. “Our performance proved that we’re behind the coach: we have played well, provided 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the axe was reserved, consequences suspended, with games against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Different Type of Defeat

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second occasion in four days, continuing their recent run to just two victories in eight, but this seemed a little different. This was a European powerhouse, as opposed to a domestic opponent. Stripped down, they had shown fight, the most obvious and most harsh charge not aimed at them in this instance. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a spot-kick, almost securing something at the end. There were “many of very good things” about this display, the head coach argued, and there could be “no blame” of his players, tonight.

The Bernabéu's Ambivalent Reception

That was not always the case. There were moments in the second half, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the final whistle, some of supporters had continued, although there was also sporadic clapping. But for the most part, there was a quiet flow to the doors. “It's to be expected, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso added: “It’s nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were times when they applauded too.”

Player Backing Is Evident

“I have the support of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he stood by them, they backed him too, at least towards the media. There has been a unification, talks: the coach had considered them, perhaps more than they had accommodated him, meeting common ground not precisely in the compromise.

Whether durable a solution that is continues to be an open question. One little incident in the post-match press conference felt notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to stick to his principles, Alonso had permitted that notion to hang there, responding: “I share a good rapport with Pep, we know each other well and he understands what he is implying.”

A Starting Point of Resistance

Most importantly though, he could be content that there was a resistance, a response. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they defended him. Some of this may have been for show, done out of obligation or self-interest, but in this tense environment, it was significant. The commitment with which they played had been as well – even if there is a temptation of the most elementary of standards somehow being elevated as a type of positive.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a strategy, that their shortcomings were not his doing. “I think my colleague Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The only way is [for] the players to change the mindset. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have witnessed a change.”

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

“We’re still striving to figure it out in the locker room,” he continued. “It's clear that the [outside] noise will not be helpful so it is about striving to fix it in there.”

“In my opinion the gaffer has been superb. I personally have a great rapport with him,” Bellingham stated. “After the spell of games where we drew a few, we had some honest conversations among ourselves.”

“All things ends in the end,” Alonso concluded, possibly speaking as much about a difficult spell as everything.