Alonso Walking a Precarious Path at the Bernabéu Amidst Squad Backing.

No attacker in the club's history had endured failing to find the net for as extended a period as Rodrygo, but finally he was freed and he had a declaration to broadcast, acted out for the world to see. The Brazilian, who had not scored in an extended drought and was starting only his fifth game this season, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the opening goal against the English champions. Then he wheeled and ran towards the sideline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the manager under pressure for whom this could represent an profound relief.

“It’s a difficult moment for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Performances are not going our way and I wanted to demonstrate people that we are as one with the coach.”

By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the lead had been lost, another loss taking its place. City had turned it around, taking 2-1 ahead with “very little”, Alonso observed. That can transpire when you’re in a “sensitive” state, he added, but at least Madrid had fought back. On this occasion, they could not engineer a comeback. Endrick, brought on having played 11 minutes all season, hit the crossbar in the final seconds.

A Delayed Judgment

“The effort fell short,” Rodrygo admitted. The issue was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to retain his position. “We didn't view it as [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been presented externally, and how it was perceived internally. “We demonstrated that we’re supporting the coach: we have performed creditably, provided 100%,” Courtois concluded. And so the axe was reserved, consequences pending, with matches against Alavés and Sevilla on the horizon.

A Different Type of Loss

Madrid had been beaten at home for the second time in four days, perpetuating their uninspiring streak to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this was a little different. This was the Premier League champions, rather than a La Liga opponent. Streamlined, they had shown fight, the simplest and most harsh accusation not directed at them on this night. With multiple players out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a penalty, coming close to earning something at the final whistle. There were “a lot of very good things” about this performance, the boss said, and there could be “no reproach” of his players, tonight.

The Stadium's Muted Reception

That was not always the full story. There were moments in the closing 45 minutes, as frustration grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At full time, a portion of supporters had continued, although there was in addition sporadic clapping. But mostly, there was a quiet flow to the exits. “That’s normal, we understand it,” Rodrygo noted. Alonso added: “This is nothing that doesn't occur before. And there were instances when they applauded too.”

Dressing Room Unity Is Evident

“I have the backing of the players,” Alonso said. And if he supported them, they stood by him too, at least towards the cameras. There has been a unification, talks: the coach had considered them, arguably more than they had accommodated him, finding common ground not exactly in the center.

How lasting a fix that is is still an open question. One little moment in the after-game press conference felt telling. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to do things his way, Alonso had permitted that idea to hang there, responding: “I have a good rapport with Pep, we understand each other well and he knows what he is talking about.”

A Starting Point of Fight

Above all though, he could be satisfied that there was a resistance, a response. Madrid’s players had not given up during the game and after it they defended him. Some of this may have been for show, done out of professionalism or mutual survival, but in this context, it was meaningful. The effort with which they played had been as well – even if there is a danger of the most fundamental of requirements somehow being elevated as a type of positive.

Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a strategy, that their shortcomings were not his responsibility. “I believe my colleague Aurélien nailed 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 key thing and today we have seen a shift.”

Jude Bellingham, questioned if they were behind the coach, also replied in numbers: “100%.”

“We persist in striving to figure it out in the changing room,” he continued. “It's clear that the [outside] noise will not be beneficial so it is about striving to fix it in there.”

“I think the coach has been excellent. I individually have a strong rapport with him,” Bellingham concluded. “After the sequence of games where we drew a few, we had some very productive conversations behind the scenes.”

“All things concludes in the end,” Alonso concluded, possibly referring as much about poor form as his own predicament.