No offensive player in the club's history had endured without a goal for as long as Rodrygo, but finally he was unleashed and he had a statement to deliver, acted out for public consumption. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in almost a year and was commencing only his fifth match this season, beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure the advantage against Manchester City. Then he spun and charged towards the sideline to hug Xabi Alonso, the manager on the edge for whom this could prove an even greater relief.
“This is a challenging time for him, similar to how it is for us,” Rodrygo said. “Results aren't working out and I aimed to prove the public that we are united with the coach.”
By the time Rodrygo spoke, the advantage had been lost, a defeat ensuing. City had reversed the score, going 2-1 ahead with “not much”, Alonso observed. That can occur when you’re in a “fragile” situation, he elaborated, but at least Madrid had fought back. This time, they could not engineer a turnaround. Endrick, on as a substitute having played very little all season, struck the bar in the dying moments.
A Suspended Sentence
“It proved insufficient,” Rodrygo conceded. The dilemma was whether it would be adequate for Alonso to retain his position. “That wasn't our perception [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois insisted, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was felt privately. “We demonstrated that we’re with the coach: we have given a good account, given 100%,” Courtois added. And so judgment was withheld, sentencing suspended, with games against Alavés and Sevilla imminent.
A More Credible Kind of Setback
Madrid had been beaten at home for the second occasion in four days, continuing their uninspiring streak to two wins in eight, but this was a little different. This was the Premier League champions, as opposed to a domestic opponent. Streamlined, they had actually run, the most obvious and most critical accusation not directed at them in this instance. 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 “many of very good things” about this performance, the manager said, and there could be “no blame” of his players, on this occasion.
The Stadium's Mixed Response
That was not entirely the case. There were moments in the second half, as irritation grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had voiced its disapproval. At the final whistle, some of supporters had done so again, although there was also some applause. But for the most part, there was a subdued stream to the exits. “It's to be expected, we comprehend it,” Rodrygo said. Alonso stated: “This is nothing that is unprecedented before. And there were instances when they cheered too.”
Player Unity Stands Strong
“I feel the confidence of the players,” Alonso said. And if he stood by them, they backed him too, at least towards the cameras. There has been a unification, discussions: the coach had accommodated them, arguably more than they had adapted to him, meeting a point not quite in the center.
Whether durable a solution that is is still an open question. One seemingly minor exchange in the after-game press conference seemed notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s counsel to do things his way, Alonso had allowed that idea to linger, answering: “I share a good connection with Pep, we understand each other well and he understands what he is implying.”
A Starting Point of Resistance
Above all though, he could be satisfied that there was a fight, a response. Madrid’s players had not let Alonso fall during the game and after it they publicly backed him. This support may have been performative, done out of obligation or mutual survival, but in this tense environment, it was meaningful. The intensity with which they played had been too – even if there is a risk of the most fundamental of expectations somehow being framed as a kind of achievement.
Earlier, Aurélien Tchouaméni had insisted the coach had a vision, that their shortcomings were not his fault. “In my view my teammate Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said post-match. “The key is [for] the players to alter the attitude. The attitude is the crucial element and today we have seen a difference.”
Jude Bellingham, asked if they were with the coach, also replied quantitatively: “100%.”
“We are continuing trying to work it out in the dressing room,” he continued. “We know that the [outside] chatter will not be productive so it is about attempting to resolve it in there.”
“Personally, I feel the coach has been excellent. I individually have a strong connection with him,” Bellingham concluded. “Following the run of games where we were held a few, we had some really great conversations internally.”
“All things passes in the end,” Alonso mused, possibly talking as much about a difficult spell as anything else.
