Xabi Alonso Navigating a Thin Path at Real Madrid Amidst Dressing Room Backing.

No offensive player in Los Blancos' annals had experienced without a goal for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but eventually he was released and he had a declaration to broadcast, acted out for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in almost a year and was commencing only his fifth appearance this term, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the opening goal against the English champions. Then he turned and sprinted towards the touchline to hug Xabi Alonso, the coach in the spotlight for whom this could signal an profound release.

“It’s a tough moment for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Performances are not going our way and I sought to show everyone that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the advantage had been lost, a defeat following. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso noted. That can happen when you’re in a “delicate” condition, he continued, but at least Madrid had reacted. Ultimately, they could not complete a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played a handful of minutes all season, hit the woodwork in the final seconds.

A Delayed Verdict

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo said. The issue was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to hold onto his position. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was felt privately. “We have shown that we’re behind the manager: we have given a good account, offered 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so the axe was reserved, any action suspended, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A More Credible Type of Loss

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second time in four days, perpetuating their uninspiring streak to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this felt a more respectable. This was Manchester City, rather than a lesser opponent. Streamlined, they had competed with intensity, the simplest and most harsh accusation not levelled at them on this night. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a penalty, coming close to earning something at the end. There were “many of very good things” about this showing, the head coach argued, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, not this time.

The Stadium's Mixed Response

That was not completely the complete picture. There were periods in the closing 45 minutes, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the conclusion, a section of supporters had repeated that, although there was in addition pockets of appreciation. But mostly, there was a quiet flow to the subway. “It's to be expected, we understand it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso remarked: “This is nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were instances when they cheered too.”

Dressing Room Backing Is Strong

“I sense the backing of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he supported them, they stood by him too, at least towards the cameras. There has been a unification, discussions: the coach had considered them, perhaps more than they had adapted to him, reaching somewhere not quite in the center.

How lasting a remedy that is is still an open question. One seemingly minor moment in the after-game press conference seemed significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to follow his own path, Alonso had permitted that implication to remain unanswered, replying: “I have a good relationship with Pep, we understand each other well and he is aware of what he is talking about.”

A Foundation of Resistance

Crucially though, he could be content 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 professionalism or self-interest, but in this tense environment, it was meaningful. The effort with which they played had been as well – even if there is a temptation of the most basic of expectations somehow being promoted as a kind of success.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a vision, that their mistakes were not his fault. “I think my teammate Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The only way is [for] the players to improve the approach. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have seen a change.”

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

“We are continuing striving to solve it in the dressing room,” he said. “It's clear that the [outside] speculation will not be beneficial so it is about striving to resolve it in there.”

“In my opinion the manager has been superb. I myself have a great connection with him,” Bellingham added. “After the run 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 a difficult spell as his own predicament.