Alonso Walking a Precarious Path at the Bernabéu Amidst Dressing Room Backing.

No forward in Real Madrid’s record books had endured without a goal for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but at last he was freed and he had a statement to send, acted out for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in almost a year and was starting only his fifth appearance this term, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the advantage against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he spun and charged towards the touchline to hug Xabi Alonso, the manager under pressure for whom this could signal an even greater relief.

“This is a difficult moment for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Things are not going our way and I wanted to show everyone that we are united with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the advantage had been taken from them, another loss taking its place. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso noted. That can happen when you’re in a “fragile” situation, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had reacted. This time, they could not engineer a comeback. Endrick, brought on having played a handful of minutes all season, hit the woodwork in the dying moments.

A Delayed Sentence

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo admitted. The dilemma was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to hold onto his job. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was felt privately. “We have shown that we’re behind the manager: we have performed creditably, given 100%,” Courtois added. And so the final decision was postponed, any action suspended, with games against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Different Form of Loss

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second occasion in four days, extending their recent run to two wins in eight, but this seemed a somewhat distinct. This was a European powerhouse, as opposed to a domestic opponent. Stripped down, they had competed with intensity, the simplest and most harsh criticism not directed at them on this night. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a penalty, nearly salvaging something at the final whistle. There were “many of very good things” about this performance, the boss said, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, tonight.

The Stadium's Mixed Reaction

That was not always the full story. There were periods in the latter period, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At full time, some of supporters had done so again, although there was also pockets of appreciation. But primarily, there was a quiet stream to the subway. “That’s normal, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso added: “It’s nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were moments when they cheered too.”

Player Backing Is Strong

“I have the confidence of the players,” Alonso said. And if he stood by them, they supported him too, at least for the public. There has been a unification, talks: the coach had listened to them, perhaps more than they had adapted to him, finding a point not precisely in the compromise.

How lasting a solution that is continues to be an unresolved issue. One seemingly minor exchange in the after-game press conference appeared notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to do things his way, Alonso had let that implication to linger, responding: “I share a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he is aware of what he is talking about.”

A Foundation of Fight

Above all though, he could be pleased that there was a spirit, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they defended him. This support may have been for show, done out of professionalism or self-preservation, but in this climate, it was meaningful. The intensity with which they played had been too – even if there is a temptation of the most basic of standards somehow being promoted as a kind of achievement.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a strategy, that their shortcomings were not his fault. “I think my teammate Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to alter the approach. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have witnessed a change.”

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

“We persist in trying to work it out in the locker room,” he elaborated. “We understand that the [outside] chatter will not be beneficial so it is about striving to fix it in there.”

“In my opinion the coach has been excellent. I personally have a great relationship with him,” Bellingham added. “Following the sequence of games where we drew a few, we had some really great conversations among ourselves.”

“All things concludes in the end,” Alonso concluded, possibly speaking as much about adversity as everything.