Xabi Alonso Navigating a Fine Path at the Bernabéu Despite Dressing Room Backing.

No offensive player in Real Madrid’s record books had endured without a goal for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but at last he was unleashed and he had a message to deliver, performed for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in an extended drought and was beginning only his fifth game this campaign, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the opening goal against the English champions. Then he turned and charged towards the sideline to greet Xabi Alonso, the coach on the edge for whom this could signal an more significant release.

“This is a difficult period for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Results aren't working out and I sought to prove people that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the lead had been taken from them, a setback following. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso observed. That can transpire when you’re in a “fragile” condition, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had fought back. Ultimately, they could not complete a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played 11 minutes all season, hit the bar in the closing stages.

A Delayed Sentence

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo conceded. The issue was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to keep his role. “We didn't view it as [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois remarked, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was perceived internally. “We demonstrated that we’re supporting the manager: we have performed creditably, given 100%,” Courtois added. And so the axe was postponed, any action delayed, with games against Alavés and Sevilla looming.

A Distinct Form of Setback

Madrid had been overcome at home for the second time in four days, continuing their poor form to just two victories in eight, but this was a little different. This was a European powerhouse, rather than a lesser opponent. Streamlined, they had competed with intensity, the easiest and most critical criticism not levelled at them on this night. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a messy goal and a converted penalty, nearly securing something at the death. There were “a lot of very good things” about this performance, the boss said, and there could be “no blame” of his players, not this time.

The Stadium's Mixed Response

That was not always the complete picture. There were periods in the second half, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At the final whistle, a section of supporters had repeated that, although there was likewise sporadic clapping. But for the most part, there was a quiet stream to the exits. “We understand that, we accept it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso stated: “There's nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were instances when they cheered too.”

Dressing Room Unity Is Firm

“I feel the confidence of the players,” Alonso affirmed. And if he backed them, they supported him too, at least towards the public. There has been a rapprochement, talks: the coach had accommodated them, maybe more than they had adapted to him, reaching a point not exactly in the middle.

How lasting a fix that is remains an open question. One little incident in the after-game press conference appeared significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s suggestion to do things his way, Alonso had permitted that implication to remain unanswered, answering: “I share a good rapport with Pep, we know each other well and he understands what he is implying.”

A Starting Point of Resistance

Most importantly though, he could be satisfied that there was a resistance, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they defended him. This support may have been theatrical, done out of obligation or self-interest, but in this tense environment, it was significant. The commitment with which they played had been as well – even if there is a temptation of the most fundamental of requirements somehow being elevated as a type of achievement.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a vision, that their mistakes were not his responsibility. “In my view my teammate Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “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, questioned if they were behind the coach, also responded quantitatively: “100%.”

“We are continuing trying to solve it in the dressing room,” he elaborated. “We understand that the [outside] noise will not be beneficial so it is about trying to fix it in there.”

“I think the manager has been superb. I personally have a excellent relationship with him,” Bellingham stated. “Following the spell of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations among ourselves.”

“Everything passes in the end,” Alonso philosophized, perhaps referring as much about a difficult spell as anything else.