Xabi Alonso Navigating a Precarious Line at Real Madrid Even With Dressing Room Backing.

No attacker in the club's history had gone without a goal for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but at last he was unleashed and he had a statement to send, acted out for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had been goalless in almost a year and was beginning only his fifth appearance this campaign, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the opening goal against the English champions. Then he spun and sprinted towards the sideline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the manager on the edge for whom this could represent an even greater relief.

“This is a difficult time for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Things are not going our way and I aimed to demonstrate people that we are united with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the advantage had been surrendered, a setback following. City had turned it around, going 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso observed. That can occur when you’re in a “delicate” condition, he continued, but at least Madrid had fought back. This time, they could not engineer a turnaround. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played 11 minutes all season, rattled the woodwork in the final seconds.

A Delayed Verdict

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo said. The issue was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to retain his job. “We didn't view it as [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was felt privately. “We have shown that we’re with the manager: we have given a good account, provided 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so judgment was postponed, consequences pending, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Different Type of Setback

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second occasion in four days, perpetuating their uninspiring streak to two wins in eight, but this seemed a more respectable. This was the Premier League champions, not a La Liga opponent. Simplified, they had competed with intensity, the simplest and most harsh criticism not aimed at them this time. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a converted penalty, nearly salvaging something at the final whistle. There were “numerous of very good things” about this display, the head coach said, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, not this time.

The Fans' Mixed Reaction

That was not completely the case. There were spells in the latter period, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the final whistle, some of supporters had repeated that, although there was also sporadic clapping. But primarily, there was a subdued flow to the subway. “It's to be expected, we understand it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso remarked: “It’s nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were instances when they cheered too.”

Dressing Room Unity Is Evident

“I have the support of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he stood by them, they stood by him too, at least in front of the media. There has been a unification, discussions: the coach had considered them, perhaps more than they had embraced him, finding somewhere not quite in the middle.

The longevity of a fix that is remains an open question. One small incident in the post-match press conference felt telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to stick to his principles, Alonso had allowed that idea to linger, replying: “I share a good rapport with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Foundation of Fight

Crucially though, he could be pleased that there was a fight, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not given up 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 climate, it was important. The effort with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a risk of the most elementary of expectations somehow being promoted as a type of positive.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a strategy, that their shortcomings were not his doing. “I think my teammate Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The key is [for] the players to alter the mindset. The attitude is the key thing and today we have observed a change.”

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

“We are continuing trying to figure it out in the dressing room,” he said. “It's clear that the [outside] noise will not be productive so it is about trying to sort it out in there.”

“I think the manager has been excellent. I myself have a excellent rapport with him,” Bellingham concluded. “Following the run of games where we tied a few, we had some honest conversations internally.”

“All things concludes in the end,” Alonso philosophized, possibly talking as much about adversity as his own predicament.