🔗 Share this article Manager Alonso Treading a Fine Tightrope at the Bernabéu Amidst Dressing Room Endorsement. No attacker in the club's history had experienced failing to find the net for as long as Rodrygo, but at last he was unleashed and he had a message to send, executed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in an extended drought and was commencing only his fifth game this term, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the lead against Manchester City. Then he wheeled and charged towards the touchline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the boss on the edge for whom this could represent an more significant release. “This is a difficult moment for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Performances aren’t coming off and I wanted to demonstrate people that we are united with the coach.” By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the advantage had been taken from them, another loss ensuing. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso noted. That can transpire when you’re in a “delicate” state, he added, but at least Madrid had responded. This time, they could not engineer a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played a handful of minutes all season, struck the crossbar in the closing stages. A Reserved Verdict “The effort fell short,” Rodrygo conceded. The issue was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to hold onto his job. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We demonstrated that we’re behind the coach: we have played well, offered 100%,” Courtois added. And so the final decision was withheld, sentencing pending, with games against Alavés and Sevilla imminent. A Distinct Kind of Loss Madrid had been defeated at home for the second time in four days, extending their recent run to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this seemed a more respectable. This was Manchester City, not a lesser opponent. Simplified, they had actually run, the simplest and most critical criticism not aimed at them this time. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a converted penalty, nearly securing something at the end. There were “many of very good things” about this display, the boss argued, and there could be “no blame” of his players, tonight. The Bernabéu's Mixed Reception That was not completely the complete picture. There were spells in the closing 45 minutes, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At full time, a section of supporters had done so again, although there was also some applause. But primarily, there was a quiet procession to the doors. “It's to be expected, we understand it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso stated: “This is nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were times when they clapped too.” Player Backing Stands Strong “I have the support of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he stood by them, they backed him too, at least in front of the public. There has been a unification, discussions: the coach had considered them, maybe more than they had embraced him, meeting common ground not exactly in the center. Whether durable a remedy that is continues to be an open question. One small exchange in the post-match press conference seemed notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to stick to his principles, Alonso had permitted that implication to hang there, responding: “I share a good relationship with Pep, we understand each other well and he is aware of what he is talking about.” A Starting Point of Fight Most importantly though, he could be content that there was a resistance, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they stood up for him. Part of it may have been theatrical, done out of professionalism or self-preservation, but in this climate, it was meaningful. The intensity with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a temptation of the most fundamental of requirements somehow being elevated as a kind of achievement. In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a vision, that their failings were not his responsibility. “In my view my teammate Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to alter the approach. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have witnessed a difference.” Jude Bellingham, asked if they were with the coach, also answered in numbers: “100%.” “We are continuing trying to work it out in the changing room,” he continued. “It's clear that the [outside] chatter will not be beneficial so it is about trying to sort it out in there.” “Personally, I feel the manager has been excellent. I myself have a great relationship with him,” Bellingham stated. “Following the sequence of games where we tied a few, we had some really great conversations among ourselves.” “Every situation ends in the end,” Alonso mused, perhaps talking as much about adversity as his own predicament.
No attacker in the club's history had experienced failing to find the net for as long as Rodrygo, but at last he was unleashed and he had a message to send, executed for the cameras. The Brazilian, who had failed to score in an extended drought and was commencing only his fifth game this term, beat shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand his team the lead against Manchester City. Then he wheeled and charged towards the touchline to embrace Xabi Alonso, the boss on the edge for whom this could represent an more significant release. “This is a difficult moment for him, just as it is for us,” Rodrygo stated. “Performances aren’t coming off and I wanted to demonstrate people that we are united with the coach.” By the time Rodrygo addressed the media, the advantage had been taken from them, another loss ensuing. City had reversed the score, taking 2-1 ahead with “minimal”, Alonso noted. That can transpire when you’re in a “delicate” state, he added, but at least Madrid had responded. This time, they could not engineer a recovery. Endrick, brought on having played a handful of minutes all season, struck the crossbar in the closing stages. A Reserved Verdict “The effort fell short,” Rodrygo conceded. The issue was whether it would be sufficient for Alonso to hold onto his job. “We didn’t feel that [this was a trial of the coach],” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois stated, but that was how it had been framed publicly, and how it was understood behind closed doors. “We demonstrated that we’re behind the coach: we have played well, offered 100%,” Courtois added. And so the final decision was withheld, sentencing pending, with games against Alavés and Sevilla imminent. A Distinct Kind of Loss Madrid had been defeated at home for the second time in four days, extending their recent run to a mere pair of successes in eight, but this seemed a more respectable. This was Manchester City, not a lesser opponent. Simplified, they had actually run, the simplest and most critical criticism not aimed at them this time. With a host of first-teamers out injured, they had lost only to a scrambled finish and a converted penalty, nearly securing something at the end. There were “many of very good things” about this display, the boss argued, and there could be “no blame” of his players, tonight. The Bernabéu's Mixed Reception That was not completely the complete picture. There were spells in the closing 45 minutes, as discontent grew, when the Santiago Bernabéu had jeered. At full time, a section of supporters had done so again, although there was also some applause. But primarily, there was a quiet procession to the doors. “It's to be expected, we understand it,” Rodrygo commented. Alonso stated: “This is nothing that hasn’t happened before. And there were times when they clapped too.” Player Backing Stands Strong “I have the support of the players,” Alonso declared. And if he stood by them, they backed him too, at least in front of the public. There has been a unification, discussions: the coach had considered them, maybe more than they had embraced him, meeting common ground not exactly in the center. Whether durable a remedy that is continues to be an open question. One small exchange in the post-match press conference seemed notable. Asked about Pep Guardiola’s advice to stick to his principles, Alonso had permitted that implication to hang there, responding: “I share a good relationship with Pep, we understand each other well and he is aware of what he is talking about.” A Starting Point of Fight Most importantly though, he could be content that there was a resistance, a pushback. Madrid’s players had not abandoned their coach during the game and after it they stood up for him. Part of it may have been theatrical, done out of professionalism or self-preservation, but in this climate, it was meaningful. The intensity with which they played had been equally so – even if there is a temptation of the most fundamental of requirements somehow being elevated as a kind of achievement. In the build-up, Aurélien Tchouaméni had stated firmly the coach had a vision, that their failings were not his responsibility. “In my view my teammate Aurélien put it perfectly in the press conference,” Raúl Asencio said after full-time. “The sole solution is [for] the players to alter the approach. The attitude is the linchpin and today we have witnessed a difference.” Jude Bellingham, asked if they were with the coach, also answered in numbers: “100%.” “We are continuing trying to work it out in the changing room,” he continued. “It's clear that the [outside] chatter will not be beneficial so it is about trying to sort it out in there.” “Personally, I feel the manager has been excellent. I myself have a great relationship with him,” Bellingham stated. “Following the sequence of games where we tied a few, we had some really great conversations among ourselves.” “Every situation ends in the end,” Alonso mused, perhaps talking as much about adversity as his own predicament.