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This proved to be nearly a flawless outing for Xabi Alonso's squad, who beat Barca by a 2-1 scoreline in the Clasico and stretch their lead in first place of the domestic championship by five points.

The English midfielder scored his first league goal along with key pass this term following a difficult period healing from a shoulder operation.

Mbappe maintained his lethal touch in attack, and the coach's game plan in his first Clasico in the dugout worked perfectly.

Yet the Vinicius Junior question came to the forefront once more.

Frustrated with coming off, Vinicius complained on his way directly past his manager and headed to the dressing room, before coming back to the bench later.

Tactical Setup Delivers Positive Outcomes from Bellingham

For a debut Clasico, it was a solid start, given that the majority of Madrid's last eight coaches lost their initial La Liga match with Barcelona.

Following the relaxed style of Carlo Ancelotti failed to get results last season, the new tactical system yielded its first major result.

A specialist commented, “He got it spot on. The home side were very good, and Barca didn't play well because of what Real Madrid were doing.”

Defensively, they pushed up as much as possible, and if they were beaten, they fell back in a structured manner, all players including the forward.”

Their defensive setup in two lines with a gap of five to 10 metres. Barca could not find a way through.”

The new system looks to be good news for the midfielder, as he in the past was essentially asked to do everything in the engine room and additional duties.

In the lineup Bellingham was positioned on the right, but in practice he could to move centrally and either support Mbappe or crash the penalty area.

The expert added, With Eduardo Camavinga in central midfield, this provides more dynamism and additional options to shut down the passing lanes.”

This led to them to position Bellingham wide right. Certainly his role included to track the forward's positioning in possession with room, connecting with him a few times.”

He was told to get into the box and operate on just outside the box, where he is very dangerous. He also drifted in to block central spaces and make the opponent's play very difficult.”

Strained Relations Revealed

There's no doubting that Madridistas are fond of the Brazilian, calls for him were sung repeatedly by the passionate Bernabeu crowd.

Yet recently there were numerous stories lately that the club might think about letting him leave should a suitable bid arrived.

He has one season to go on his deal come the end of the season, yet discussions on a renewal have stalled.

Vinicius' behavior after coming off late in the game spoke of tension. When the match ended, he had to be restrained as he tried to approach Lamine Yamal.

The analyst said, He will face backlash and justifiably, since it displayed poor sportsmanship for Rodrygo taking his place.”

Yet, growing up, his life has been in a challenging environment, and he feels that he faces opposition.”

“That mentality is tough to overcome, notably when you believe near the best player, then the club shifts the focus towards Mbappe as the star.”

Recently he believes that Real Madrid isn't protecting him. There are stories, possibly leaked by the club, or unchallenged by officials, that they might accept if someone paid 250m euros to sign him and sell him.”

He is aware of this, and when he was taken off – fairly, because Vinicius stopped dropping back as required – in Vinicius' head he thinks why single me out?’.”

“It will be difficult to reconcile among the parties and him at the moment.”

Barcelona Style “Crumbles”

Having triumphed in each of the recent Clasicos, the latest display was emblematic of Barca's shaky early form.

Absences have deprived the manager of crucial contributors including Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo, and the tactical setup is not effective when they are missing.

Balague commented, “It's like the whole team lack sharpness without the ball, less hungry to recover it, softer in pressing.”

Opponents find it simpler to break them down. If the defensive line is flawed, which was the case Mbappe's strike since the defender kept him onside, they are not helped by teammates not challenging those on the ball adequately.”

The young talent, the main threat of Real last season, was well contained.

Key players did not perform well. Yamal doesn't feel like he's in good form, maybe due to groin problems