Alonso Treading a Thin Path at the Bernabéu Despite Player Endorsement.

No offensive player in the club's record books had experienced failing to find the net for as long as Rodrygo, but at last he was unleashed and he had a message to send, executed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in almost a year and was beginning only his fifth match this season, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the opening goal against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he turned and charged towards the bench to hug Xabi Alonso, the boss on the edge for whom this could represent an profound release.

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

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been taken from them, a defeat taking its place. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso remarked. That can transpire when you’re in a “fragile” situation, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had responded. On this occasion, they could not engineer a recovery. Endrick, on as a substitute having played a handful of minutes all season, rattled the woodwork in the final seconds.

A Suspended Verdict

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo said. The question was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to hold onto his role. “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 portrayed in the media, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We have shown that we’re with the coach: we have performed creditably, offered 100%,” Courtois added. And so judgment was reserved, consequences suspended, with games against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Distinct Type of Loss

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second occasion in four days, extending their uninspiring streak to two wins in eight, but this felt a little different. This was a European powerhouse, as opposed to a domestic opponent. Simplified, they had competed with intensity, the easiest and most damning charge not directed at them this time. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a converted penalty, almost earning something at the end. There were “numerous of very good things” about this performance, the boss argued, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, on this occasion.

The Bernabéu's Mixed Reception

That was not entirely the complete picture. There were moments in the closing 45 minutes, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At full time, a portion of supporters had repeated that, although there was in addition sporadic clapping. But for the most part, there was a muted flow to the exits. “It's to be expected, we understand it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso remarked: “This is nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were instances when they applauded too.”

Dressing Room Backing Stands Firm

“I sense the backing of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he supported them, they backed him too, at least towards the cameras. There has been a rapprochement, conversations: the coach had accommodated them, perhaps more than they had adapted to him, meeting a point not quite in the compromise.

The longevity of a fix that is remains an unresolved issue. One seemingly minor exchange in the after-game press conference appeared significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to stick to his principles, Alonso had permitted that notion to remain unanswered, responding: “I have a good relationship with Pep, we understand each other well and he understands what he is implying.”

A Basis of Fight

Above all though, he could be satisfied that there was a spirit, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they stood up for him. Some of this may have been theatrical, done out of obligation or mutual survival, but in this climate, it was meaningful. The intensity with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a risk of the most basic of requirements somehow being elevated as a form of achievement.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a strategy, that their mistakes were not his responsibility. “I believe my colleague Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to improve the mindset. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have seen a shift.”

Jude Bellingham, asked if they were supporting the coach, also responded with a figure: “100%.”

“We’re still trying to solve it in the changing room,” he elaborated. “It's clear that the [outside] noise will not be productive so it is about striving to sort it out in there.”

“In my opinion the coach has been superb. I personally have a great relationship with him,” Bellingham added. “Following the spell of games where we tied a few, we had some very productive conversations among ourselves.”

“All things passes in the end,” Alonso mused, maybe talking as much about adversity as everything.