Alonso Treading a Precarious Line at Madrid Amidst Dressing Room Support.

No forward in Los Blancos' record books had experienced scoreless for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but at last he was unleashed and he had a message to broadcast, performed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had not scored in almost a year and was commencing only his fifth match this season, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the lead against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he wheeled and ran towards the bench to hug Xabi Alonso, the boss on the edge for whom this could prove an profound release.

“This is a difficult period for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Performances aren’t coming off and I wanted to show everyone that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been lost, a defeat following. City had turned it around, taking 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso observed. That can happen when you’re in a “fragile” condition, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had responded. Ultimately, they could not complete a comeback. Endrick, on as a substitute having played 11 minutes all season, struck the bar in the closing stages.

A Suspended Verdict

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo admitted. The dilemma was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to hold onto his job. “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 perceived internally. “Our performance proved that we’re behind the manager: we have played well, offered 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so the final decision was postponed, sentencing suspended, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Different Kind of Setback

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second match in four days, perpetuating their uninspiring streak to just two victories in eight, but this was a little different. This was the Premier League champions, not a La Liga opponent. Simplified, they had competed with intensity, the easiest and most critical criticism not directed at them in this instance. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a penalty, almost earning something at the final whistle. There were “numerous of very good things” about this showing, the head coach argued, and there could be “no blame” of his players, not this time.

The Stadium's Ambivalent Reception

That was not completely the full story. There were moments in the second half, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At full time, a portion of supporters had done so again, although there was also sporadic clapping. But for the most part, there was a muted flow to the exits. “That’s normal, we accept it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso added: “There's nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were times when they cheered too.”

Dressing Room Unity Stands Strong

“I have the backing of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he supported them, they supported him too, at least towards the cameras. There has been a coming together, talks: the coach had listened to them, perhaps more than they had accommodated him, finding common ground not quite in the compromise.

How lasting a remedy that is is still an open question. One seemingly minor exchange in the after-game press conference felt significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to follow his own path, Alonso had allowed that idea to linger, answering: “I share a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he understands what he is talking about.”

A Foundation of Fight

Most importantly though, he could be pleased that there was a fight, a response. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they stood up for him. This support may have been performative, done out of obligation or mutual survival, but in this context, it was significant. The intensity with which they played had been as well – even if there is a risk of the most basic of expectations somehow being promoted as a form of positive.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a vision, that their failings were not his fault. “I think my colleague Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The key is [for] the players to alter the mindset. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have observed a difference.”

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

“We are continuing trying to figure it out in the changing room,” he continued. “We understand that the [outside] chatter will not be helpful so it is about striving to sort it out in there.”

“In my opinion the gaffer has been great. I personally have a excellent relationship with him,” Bellingham stated. “After the run of games where we tied a few, we had some honest conversations internally.”

“Everything ends in the end,” Alonso philosophized, perhaps talking as much about adversity as anything else.