Xabi Alonso Navigating a Precarious Tightrope at Madrid Even With Squad Support.

No offensive player in the club's history had gone without a goal for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but eventually he was freed and he had a message to deliver, acted out for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had been goalless in almost a year and was starting only his fifth match this campaign, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the opening goal against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he spun and charged towards the bench to hug Xabi Alonso, the coach on the edge for whom this could prove an profound liberation.

“This is a challenging moment for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Things aren’t coming off and I wanted to demonstrate everyone that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the advantage had been surrendered, a setback ensuing. City had reversed the score, going 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso observed. That can transpire when you’re in a “sensitive” condition, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had fought back. On this occasion, they could not complete a comeback. Endrick, on as a substitute having played a handful of minutes all season, hit the bar in the dying moments.

A Delayed Verdict

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo admitted. The question was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to keep his role. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was felt privately. “Our performance proved that we’re behind the manager: we have performed creditably, provided 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the axe was withheld, any action delayed, with games against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Different Kind of Defeat

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second match in four days, extending their uninspiring streak to two wins in eight, but this seemed a more respectable. This was Manchester City, rather than a domestic opponent. Stripped down, they had competed with intensity, the simplest and most damning charge not levelled at them in this instance. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a spot-kick, coming close to salvaging something at the final whistle. There were “numerous of very good things” about this display, the manager stated, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, tonight.

The Stadium's Ambivalent Reception

That was not entirely the complete picture. There were spells in the latter period, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At full time, a section of supporters had done so again, although there was likewise sporadic clapping. But primarily, there was a muted flow to the exits. “We understand that, we accept it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso remarked: “It’s nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were times when they applauded too.”

Squad Unity Stands Strong

“I feel the confidence of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he supported them, they supported him too, at least in front of the media. There has been a unification, talks: the coach had accommodated them, perhaps more than they had adapted to him, finding common ground not exactly in the center.

How lasting a fix that is remains an matter of debate. One seemingly minor incident in the post-match press conference felt telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to stick to his principles, Alonso had let that implication to linger, answering: “I have a good relationship with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is implying.”

A Starting Point of Reaction

Crucially though, he could be pleased that there was a resistance, a response. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they publicly backed him. Some of this may have been performative, done out of duty or self-preservation, but in this tense environment, it was important. The intensity with which they played had been as well – even if there is a temptation of the most fundamental of expectations somehow being framed as a type of success.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a strategy, that their failings were not his responsibility. “I think my colleague Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to improve the attitude. The attitude is the key thing and today we have witnessed a shift.”

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

“We’re still attempting to figure it out in the changing room,” he said. “It's clear that the [outside] chatter will not be beneficial so it is about attempting to resolve it in there.”

“In my opinion the coach has been excellent. I myself have a great connection with him,” Bellingham stated. “After the spell of games where we drew a few, we had some honest conversations behind the scenes.”

“All things passes in the end,” Alonso philosophized, perhaps speaking as much about adversity as everything.