🔗 Share this article

It was practically a flawless outing for Real Madrid, who beat their arch-rivals by a 2-1 scoreline during the Clasico and stretch the gap at the summit of the Spanish league with a five-point cushion.

Jude Bellingham got his maiden domestic strike and assist of the season after a challenging spell healing from surgery on his shoulder.

Kylian Mbappe showed his deadly touch in attack, while Alonso's tactics in his inaugural El Clasico on the sidelines proved like a charm.

Yet the Vinicius Junior question emerged again yet again.

Unhappy at being substituted, the star forward ranted as he walked straight past his manager before marched to the dressing room, then reappearing to the substitute area later.

Manager's Approach Gets Success for the Midfielder

As first Clasicos go, Alonso did well, especially since seven of Madrid's recent managers lost their debut La Liga encounter with Barca.

After the laissez-faire approach of Carlo Ancelotti fell short in the previous campaign, Alonso's positional game-model produced an important victory.

A specialist noted, The strategy worked brilliantly. The home side were impressive, and Barcelona struggled because of what Real Madrid were doing.”

When not in possession, they pressed high consistently, and when bypassed, they tracked back in a structured manner, everybody including Vinicius.”

Their defensive setup in two layers separated by five to 10 metres. Barcelona were unable to break through.”

This approach appears to be positive for Bellingham, as he last season was essentially asked to do everything in the center and additional duties.

Theoretically the young star played on the right, however he had the freedom to drift inward and support Mbappe or get into scoring positions.

The expert continued, Employing Eduardo Camavinga in the middle, this provides greater energy and more ways to close down the channels.”

“That forced them to put Bellingham wide right. Certainly his role included to track the runs of Mbappe on the ball with room, and he found him a few times.”

His instructions included to get into the box and operate on the edge of the box, his most effective zone. Additionally, he moved centrally to close the inside channels creating Barca's task tough.”

Strained Relations Laid Bare

There's no doubting that the fans are fond of the Brazilian, his chant rang out multiple times by a fervent Bernabeu crowd.

But there have been various accounts over the past period that the club might think about letting him leave if the right offer was made.

He has a year left under his current terms come the end of the season, yet negotiations for an extension have stalled.

Vinicius' behavior to being replaced late in the game suggested tension. After the full-time whistle, he was held back as he attempted to confront Yamal.

The analyst commented, “Everyone will have a go at him for good reason, since it displayed poor sportsmanship for Rodrygo taking his place.”

Yet, growing up, he has lived in a hostile world, and perceives that everyone is against him.”

“That mentality is difficult to shake, notably when you feel near the top star, then the club drives the axis towards Mbappe as the key figure.”

“This season he's felt that Real Madrid has not supported him. Rumors indicate, potentially club-sourced, or not denied by the club, that they might accept if someone paid 250m euros for him and sell him.”

This affects him, so when Alonso subbed him – fairly, since he wasn't defending as expected – in his mind he thinks why always me?.”

Building bridges will be tough to reconcile with the club and him now.”

Barcelona Style “Crumbles”

Following victories in all four of last season's derbies, the latest display represented Barca's shaky beginning of the season.

Fitness issues have robbed the manager of crucial contributors such as Raphinha, Lewandowski and Dani Olmo, and the approach isn't working in their absence.

The expert stated, “It's like the whole team lack sharpness defensively, with less desire to win it back, softer to get the possession back.”

“It's easier to attack them. Should the defense is flawed, as it wasn't the Mbappe goal since the defender kept him onside, they are not helped by teammates failing to press opponents in possession as expected.”

Lamine Yamal, the main threat earlier, was neutralized.

The big names did not perform well. Lamine seems not he's in good form, maybe due to groin problems