Xabi Alonso Navigating a Thin Tightrope at Madrid Even With Player Endorsement.

No forward in the club's history had gone scoreless for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but at last he was unleashed and he had a statement to broadcast, performed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in almost a year and was commencing only his fifth appearance this season, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the opening goal against the English champions. Then he turned and ran towards the bench to greet Xabi Alonso, the boss under pressure for whom this could prove an more significant liberation.

“It’s a tough time for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Performances aren’t coming off and I aimed to prove everyone that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the lead had been surrendered, a setback ensuing. City had turned it around, taking 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso observed. That can occur when you’re in a “fragile” situation, he continued, but at least Madrid had fought back. On this occasion, they could not engineer a turnaround. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played very little all season, hit the crossbar in the final seconds.

A Reserved Sentence

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo admitted. The question was whether it would be enough for Alonso to hold onto his position. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We have shown that we’re behind the coach: we have performed creditably, given 100%,” Courtois added. And so the axe was reserved, consequences suspended, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A Distinct Form of Defeat

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second match in four days, continuing their recent run to just two victories in eight, but this felt a little different. This was the Premier League champions, not a lesser opponent. Stripped down, they had competed with intensity, the simplest and most damning accusation not levelled at them on this night. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a spot-kick, nearly salvaging something at the death. There were “a lot of very good things” about this showing, the head coach said, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, not this time.

The Stadium's Muted Response

That was not always the case. There were moments in the latter period, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At full time, some of supporters had repeated that, although there was likewise pockets of appreciation. But primarily, there was a muted stream to the exits. “It's to be expected, we understand it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso added: “It’s nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were times when they applauded too.”

Player Backing Remains Evident

“I sense the support of the players,” Alonso said. And if he backed them, they backed him too, at least towards the media. There has been a coming together, discussions: the coach had considered them, perhaps more than they had embraced him, meeting somewhere not quite in the center.

How lasting a fix that is is still an matter of debate. One seemingly minor exchange in the after-game press conference seemed telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to stick to his principles, Alonso had allowed that notion to linger, replying: “I share a good relationship with Pep, we know each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Starting Point of Fight

Most importantly 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. This support may have been for show, done out of obligation or self-preservation, but in this tense environment, it was significant. The commitment with which they played had been too – even if there is a risk of the most basic of expectations somehow being elevated as a kind of achievement.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a vision, that their failings were not his fault. “I believe my teammate Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to improve the attitude. The attitude is the key thing and today we have observed a change.”

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

“We’re still trying to work 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 gaffer has been great. I myself have a great connection with him,” Bellingham added. “After the spell of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations behind the scenes.”

“All things passes in the end,” Alonso concluded, perhaps talking as much about a difficult spell as everything.