Manager Alonso Treading a Thin Path at Real Madrid Despite Player Endorsement.

No offensive player in Real Madrid’s annals had endured failing to find the net for as long as Rodrygo, but finally he was freed and he had a statement to deliver, executed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had not scored in almost a year and was starting only his fifth game this term, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the lead against Manchester City. Then he turned and charged towards the touchline to hug Xabi Alonso, the manager under pressure for whom this could represent an more significant release.

“This is a difficult moment for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Results aren’t coming off and I wanted to show everyone that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the advantage had been lost, a defeat following. City had turned it around, going 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso noted. That can occur when you’re in a “sensitive” condition, he added, but at least Madrid had responded. On this occasion, they could not complete a turnaround. Endrick, introduced off the bench having played 11 minutes all season, struck the crossbar in the final seconds.

A Reserved Sentence

“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo said. The question was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to keep his job. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was perceived internally. “We demonstrated that we’re behind the manager: we have performed creditably, provided 100%,” Courtois added. And so the axe was reserved, any action suspended, with fixtures against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A More Credible Form of Loss

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second occasion in four days, extending their poor form to two wins in eight, but this seemed a somewhat distinct. This was the Premier League champions, as opposed to a domestic opponent. Simplified, they had shown fight, the most obvious and most critical charge not directed at them this time. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a spot-kick, nearly securing something at the final whistle. There were “many of very good things” about this display, the manager argued, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, not this time.

The Stadium's Muted Response

That was not always the full story. There were spells in the closing 45 minutes, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had voiced its disapproval. At the conclusion, some of supporters had repeated that, although there was likewise sporadic clapping. But for the most part, there was a quiet procession to the exits. “It's to be expected, we accept it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso added: “There's nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were instances when they applauded too.”

Player Support Stands Strong

“I sense the support of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he stood by them, they backed him too, at least towards the media. There has been a rapprochement, discussions: the coach had accommodated them, arguably more than they had embraced him, meeting somewhere not quite in the compromise.

How lasting a remedy that is continues to be an matter of debate. One seemingly minor moment in the post-match press conference felt telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to do things his way, Alonso had permitted that notion to linger, responding: “I share a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Starting Point of Resistance

Crucially though, he could be satisfied that there was a resistance, a reaction. 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 tense environment, it was important. The commitment with which they played had been too – even if there is a danger of the most elementary of standards somehow being elevated as a form of positive.

The previous day, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a vision, that their failings were not his doing. “I believe my colleague Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The only way is [for] the players to change the attitude. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have witnessed a difference.”

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

“We’re still trying to solve it in the locker room,” he elaborated. “We understand that the [outside] chatter will not be beneficial so it is about attempting to sort it out in there.”

“I think the manager has been excellent. I personally have a great connection with him,” Bellingham added. “After the sequence of games where we were held a few, we had some really great conversations internally.”

“Everything passes in the end,” Alonso philosophized, possibly referring as much about poor form as everything.