Alonso Navigating a Fine Path at the Bernabéu Amidst Dressing Room Endorsement.

No forward in Los Blancos' annals had endured failing to find the net for as long as Rodrygo, but eventually he was unleashed and he had a statement to send, executed for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in an extended drought and was starting only his fifth match this campaign, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the lead against the English champions. Then he wheeled and sprinted towards the touchline to greet Xabi Alonso, the boss in the spotlight for whom this could prove an profound release.

“It’s a tough period for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Performances aren't working out and I wanted to demonstrate people that we are together with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the advantage had been lost, another loss following. City had come back, going 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso observed. That can transpire when you’re in a “delicate” situation, he added, but at least Madrid had responded. On this occasion, they could not engineer a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played 11 minutes all season, rattled the bar in the dying moments.

A Suspended Verdict

“It wasn’t enough,” Rodrygo admitted. The dilemma 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 remarked, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We demonstrated that we’re with the manager: we have played well, offered 100%,” Courtois added. And so the final decision was reserved, any action delayed, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Distinct Form of Setback

Madrid had been defeated at home for the second occasion in four days, extending their poor form to just two victories in eight, but this seemed a more respectable. This was a European powerhouse, not a lesser opponent. Stripped down, they had competed with intensity, the easiest and most damning criticism not directed at them on this night. With eight men out injured, they had lost only to a opportunistic strike and a spot-kick, nearly securing something at the end. There were “many of very good things” about this display, the boss said, and there could be “no blame” of his players, tonight.

The Stadium's Mixed Reaction

That was not always the full story. There were moments in the second half, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had whistled. At the final whistle, a section of supporters had repeated that, although there was also sporadic clapping. But primarily, there was a quiet stream to the subway. “It's to be expected, we accept it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso remarked: “It’s nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were times when they cheered too.”

Dressing Room Backing Stands Strong

“I sense the support of the players,” Alonso said. And if he backed them, they backed him too, at least for the public. There has been a unification, talks: the coach had accommodated them, maybe more than they had adapted to him, meeting a point not precisely in the center.

How lasting a remedy that is remains an matter of debate. One small incident in the after-game press conference seemed significant. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to do things his way, Alonso had permitted that idea to remain unanswered, replying: “I share a good connection with Pep, we know each other well and he is aware of what he is talking about.”

A Starting Point of Resistance

Most importantly though, he could be satisfied that there was a fight, a response. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they stood up for him. This support may have been performative, done out of professionalism or mutual survival, but in this tense environment, it was meaningful. The effort with which they played had been as well – even if there is a risk of the most fundamental of expectations somehow being framed as a type of positive.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had argued the coach had a strategy, that their shortcomings were not his doing. “In my view my colleague Aurélien said it in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to change the mindset. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have seen a change.”

Jude Bellingham, questioned if they were behind the coach, also responded with a figure: “100%.”

“We are continuing trying to figure it out in the dressing room,” he elaborated. “We understand that the [outside] chatter will not be helpful so it is about striving to resolve it in there.”

“Personally, I feel the coach has been great. I myself have a excellent rapport with him,” Bellingham stated. “After the spell of games where we were held a few, we had some really great conversations internally.”

“Everything concludes in the end,” Alonso mused, possibly talking as much about poor form as everything.