Alonso Treading a Thin Line at Real Madrid Even With Dressing Room Endorsement.

No offensive player in Los Blancos' history had gone failing to find the net for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but at last he was freed and he had a declaration to deliver, acted out for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in an extended drought and was beginning only his fifth match this season, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the opening goal against Manchester City. Then he wheeled and sprinted towards the bench to embrace Xabi Alonso, the boss on the edge for whom this could prove an more significant release.

“This is a difficult moment for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Performances aren’t coming off and I sought to prove people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the advantage had been lost, a setback following. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso observed. That can happen when you’re in a “fragile” situation, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had fought back. Ultimately, they could not engineer a recovery. Endrick, on as a substitute having played a handful of minutes all season, struck the woodwork in the closing stages.

A Delayed Verdict

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo conceded. The question was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to retain his role. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We have shown that we’re with the coach: we have performed creditably, given 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so judgment was reserved, any action delayed, with games against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Different Type of Defeat

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second time in four days, extending their recent run to two wins in eight, but this seemed a little different. This was Manchester City, as opposed to a La Liga opponent. Stripped down, they had shown fight, the most obvious and most critical charge not aimed at them this time. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a converted penalty, nearly securing something at the final whistle. There were “numerous of very good things” about this display, the head coach said, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, tonight.

The Bernabéu's Ambivalent Reception

That was not entirely the full story. There were periods in the latter period, 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 in addition pockets of appreciation. But mostly, there was a subdued flow to the subway. “We understand that, we accept it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso stated: “It’s nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were instances when they applauded too.”

Dressing Room Backing Remains Firm

“I have the confidence of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he stood by them, they supported him too, at least in front of the public. There has been a coming together, conversations: the coach had accommodated them, perhaps more than they had accommodated him, reaching somewhere not quite in the middle.

The longevity of a remedy that is continues to be an open question. One seemingly minor incident in the after-game press conference appeared significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to follow his own path, Alonso had allowed that implication to hang there, responding: “I have a good rapport with Pep, we know each other well and he understands what he is implying.”

A Starting Point of Fight

Above all though, he could be content that there was a fight, 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 theatrical, done out of duty or self-interest, but in this climate, it was important. The effort with which they played had been as well – even if there is a temptation of the most fundamental of standards somehow being promoted as a type of success.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a vision, that their mistakes were not his responsibility. “In my view my teammate Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The only way is [for] the players to change the approach. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have witnessed a difference.”

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

“We persist in trying to figure it out in the dressing room,” he said. “We understand that the [outside] noise will not be helpful so it is about attempting to sort it out in there.”

“Personally, I feel the coach has been excellent. I personally have a excellent rapport with him,” Bellingham stated. “After the sequence of games where we were held a few, we had some honest conversations behind the scenes.”

“Everything ends in the end,” Alonso concluded, possibly talking as much about adversity as his own predicament.