Manager Alonso Treading a Precarious Line at the Bernabéu Even With Dressing Room Backing.

No offensive player in the club's history had endured scoreless for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but finally he was unleashed and he had a message to send, acted out for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had been goalless in an extended drought and was starting only his fifth match this term, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the lead against the English champions. Then he wheeled and charged towards the bench to greet Xabi Alonso, the manager under pressure for whom this could represent an even greater relief.

“This is a difficult moment for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Performances aren't working out and I sought to prove people that we are united with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo spoke, the advantage had been taken from them, a setback following. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso noted. That can transpire when you’re in a “fragile” condition, he continued, but at least Madrid had fought back. Ultimately, they could not pull off a turnaround. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played very little all season, struck the crossbar in the closing stages.

A Delayed Verdict

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo said. The dilemma was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to hold onto his role. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was perceived internally. “Our performance proved that we’re with the manager: we have played well, offered 100%,” Courtois affirmed. And so the final decision was postponed, consequences delayed, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Distinct Type of Defeat

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second occasion in four days, continuing their uninspiring streak to two wins in eight, but this felt a somewhat distinct. This was a European powerhouse, rather than a lesser opponent. Stripped down, they had actually run, the most obvious and most critical charge not aimed at them this time. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a spot-kick, almost securing something at the death. There were “a lot of very good things” about this display, the manager said, and there could be “no criticism” of his players, tonight.

The Stadium's Mixed Reception

That was not always the full story. There were periods in the second half, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At full time, a section of supporters had continued, although there was in addition pockets of appreciation. But for the most part, there was a subdued flow to the subway. “That’s normal, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso remarked: “There's nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were moments when they cheered too.”

Dressing Room Unity Is Firm

“I feel the support of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he stood by them, they supported him too, at least in front of the cameras. There has been a rapprochement, discussions: the coach had listened to them, perhaps more than they had accommodated him, meeting somewhere not quite in the center.

How lasting a fix that is is still an matter of debate. One little incident in the post-match press conference felt telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to do things his way, Alonso had let that notion to hang there, replying: “I have a good relationship with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is saying.”

A Foundation of Resistance

Crucially though, he could be satisfied that there was a fight, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they defended him. Part of it may have been theatrical, done out of obligation or self-interest, but in this context, it was meaningful. The effort with which they played had been as well – even if there is a danger of the most fundamental of expectations somehow being promoted as a form of success.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a vision, that their failings were not his doing. “I think my colleague 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 key thing and today we have seen a change.”

Jude Bellingham, questioned if they were with the coach, also replied in numbers: “100%.”

“We are continuing attempting to figure it out in the changing room,” he continued. “It's clear that the [outside] speculation will not be productive so it is about striving to resolve it in there.”

“In my opinion the manager has been excellent. I personally have a excellent rapport with him,” Bellingham added. “Following the sequence of games where we tied a few, we had some honest conversations behind the scenes.”

“All things ends in the end,” Alonso philosophized, possibly speaking as much about poor form as anything else.