Xabi Alonso Navigating a Fine Line at the Bernabéu Despite Squad Endorsement.

No attacker in the club's record books had endured failing to find the net for as such a duration as Rodrygo, but eventually he was freed and he had a declaration to send, performed for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in nine months and was commencing only his fifth match this season, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to give them the opening goal against the English champions. Then he spun and charged towards the sideline to hug Xabi Alonso, the boss under pressure for whom this could represent an even greater release.

“It’s a tough moment for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Things aren't working out and I wanted to prove people that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been taken from them, a defeat taking its place. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso remarked. That can happen when you’re in a “sensitive” state, he added, but at least Madrid had fought back. Ultimately, they could not engineer a recovery. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played 11 minutes all season, struck the bar in the closing stages.

A Reserved Judgment

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo conceded. The dilemma was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to keep his position. “We didn't view it as [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was perceived internally. “We demonstrated that we’re behind the manager: we have performed creditably, given 100%,” Courtois added. And so judgment was reserved, consequences suspended, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A More Credible Kind of Defeat

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second occasion in four days, extending their recent run to just two victories in eight, but this seemed a more respectable. This was Manchester City, as opposed to a La Liga opponent. Streamlined, they had shown fight, the easiest and most damning charge not levelled at them in this instance. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a penalty, almost salvaging something at the final whistle. There were “a lot of very good things” about this showing, the manager argued, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, on this occasion.

The Fans' Mixed Reaction

That was not always the case. There were periods in the latter period, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the conclusion, a portion of supporters had continued, although there was likewise sporadic clapping. But mostly, there was a quiet procession to the exits. “We understand that, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso added: “This is nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were instances when they clapped too.”

Player Backing Is Evident

“I feel the support of the players,” Alonso said. And if he backed them, they backed him too, at least for the media. There has been a coming together, talks: the coach had listened to them, maybe more than they had accommodated him, reaching somewhere not precisely in the middle.

The longevity of a fix that is remains an matter of debate. One seemingly minor incident in the post-match press conference felt significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to do things his way, Alonso had permitted that notion to remain unanswered, responding: “I share a good connection with Pep, we know each other well and he understands what he is saying.”

A Starting Point of Reaction

Most importantly though, he could be satisfied that there was a resistance, a response. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they stood up for him. Part of it may have been performative, done out of obligation or self-interest, but in this context, it was meaningful. The commitment with which they played had been as well – even if there is a temptation of the most fundamental of expectations somehow being promoted as a form of success.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a plan, that their failings were not his fault. “In my view my colleague Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The key is [for] the players to change the attitude. The attitude is the key thing and today we have witnessed a shift.”

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

“We are continuing attempting to work it out in the changing room,” he elaborated. “We know that the [outside] chatter will not be helpful so it is about striving to resolve it in there.”

“I think the gaffer has been superb. I myself have a great relationship with him,” Bellingham concluded. “Following the sequence of games where we tied a few, we had some honest conversations among ourselves.”

“All things concludes in the end,” Alonso philosophized, possibly speaking as much about a difficult spell as his own predicament.