Xabi Alonso Treading a Precarious Tightrope at Madrid Even With Dressing Room Endorsement.

No forward in Los Blancos' history had experienced failing to find the net for as long as Rodrygo, but at last he was unleashed and he had a statement to send, executed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had not scored in nine months and was starting only his fifth game this season, beat custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the advantage against Pep Guardiola's side. Then he turned and sprinted towards the sideline to hug Xabi Alonso, the coach under pressure for whom this could signal an profound relief.

“It’s a tough time for him, like it is for us,” Rodrygo commented. “Performances aren't working out and I sought to show people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo made his comments, the advantage had been taken from them, a setback taking its place. City had come back, taking 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso remarked. That can occur when you’re in a “fragile” condition, he continued, but at least Madrid had reacted. On this occasion, they could not complete a comeback. Endrick, on as a substitute having played very little all season, hit the bar in the dying moments.

A Delayed Sentence

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo admitted. The question was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to keep his job. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” veteran keeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been portrayed in the media, and how it was perceived internally. “We have shown that we’re behind the coach: we have performed creditably, given 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the final decision was withheld, sentencing suspended, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.

A Distinct Type of Setback

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second match in four days, extending their recent run to two wins in eight, but this seemed a little different. This was Manchester City, not a lesser opponent. Streamlined, they had shown fight, the most obvious 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, almost securing something at the final whistle. There were “a lot of very good things” about this display, the boss stated, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, on this occasion.

The Fans' Ambivalent Reaction

That was not always the complete picture. There were spells in the second half, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had voiced its disapproval. At full time, a section of supporters had repeated that, although there was in addition some applause. But for the most part, there was a muted stream to the subway. “We understand that, we accept it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso added: “It’s nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were moments when they clapped too.”

Dressing Room Unity Is Strong

“I sense the backing of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he stood by them, they backed him too, at least for the public. There has been a unification, conversations: the coach had listened to them, maybe more than they had embraced him, finding common ground not exactly in the center.

Whether durable a fix that is remains an matter of debate. One small moment in the post-match press conference appeared notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to do things his way, Alonso had permitted that idea to hang there, replying: “I have a good rapport with Pep, we know each other well and he is aware of what he is implying.”

A Starting Point of Fight

Crucially though, he could be satisfied that there was a fight, a reaction. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they stood up for him. Some of this may have been for show, done out of obligation or self-preservation, but in this tense environment, it was meaningful. The intensity with which they played had been too – even if there is a danger of the most fundamental of expectations somehow being framed as a form of achievement.

In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a strategy, that their shortcomings were not his doing. “I think my teammate Aurélien nailed it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The key 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 supporting the coach, also replied with a figure: “100%.”

“We’re still trying to solve it in the changing room,” he elaborated. “We understand that the [outside] noise will not be productive so it is about striving to fix it in there.”

“In my opinion the manager has been superb. I individually have a great connection with him,” Bellingham added. “Following the run of games where we tied a few, we had some very productive conversations among ourselves.”

“Everything ends in the end,” Alonso philosophized, possibly talking as much about a difficult spell as his own predicament.