🔗 Share this article

This proved to be practically an ideal outing for the Madrid side, as they defeated their arch-rivals by a 2-1 scoreline during the Clasico and increase the gap in first place of the domestic championship with a five-point cushion.

Bellingham scored his first league goal along with assist this campaign after a challenging spell recovering from a shoulder operation.

Mbappe showed his clinical form when scoring, and the coach's game plan in his first Clasico in the dugout worked like a charm.

But then the Vinicius Junior question came to the forefront another time.

Unhappy at being substituted, the star forward complained on his way straight past Xabi Alonso and marched to the dressing room, before returning to the bench several minutes.

Alonso System Gets Success for Jude Bellingham

As first Clasicos go, this wasn't a bad one, given that seven of Madrid's recent bosses lost their first league match against Barca.

Following the relaxed method from the previous coach failed to get results last season, Alonso's positional game-model yielded its first major result.

Spanish football analyst noted, His plan was perfect. Madrid were very good, while the visitors didn't play well because of Madrid's tactics.”

“Without the ball, they pushed up as much as possible, if overcome, they tracked back with discipline, all players even Vinicius.”

The team's shape in two lines with a gap of five to 10 metres. Barca could not find a way through.”

The tactical change seems good news for Bellingham, who in the past was expected to cover multiple roles in the engine room and beyond.

In the lineup the 22-year-old started wide right, but actually he was allowed to move centrally and link with Mbappe or enter the box.

The expert added, “By using Camavinga in the center, this provides greater energy and better ability to close down the channels.”

As a result the team to deploy Bellingham on the right-hand side. Certainly his role included to keep an eye on the forward's positioning in possession and found openings, and he located him on several occasions.”

He was told to move into the penalty area and operate on the edge of the box, where he is very dangerous. He also came inside to block central spaces and make the opponent's play challenging.”

Strained Relations Revealed

It's clear that Madridistas adore Vinicius, his name were sung on several occasions by the passionate home supporters.

Yet there have been countless reports lately that the club could entertain selling him if the right offer arrived.

He has a year left on his contract come the end of the season, yet talks over a new deal have not progressed.

Vinicius' behavior to being replaced in the second half spoke of strained relations. Post-game, teammates intervened as he attempted to confront Lamine Yamal.

Balague noted, “Everyone will have a go at him and justifiably, because it showed disrespect toward his replacement who replaced him.”

“But since being a kid, he has lived in a challenging environment, and he believes that he faces opposition.”

“That mentality is difficult to shake, particularly since you feel near number one in the world, then the club shifts the focus to Mbappe as the star.”

Recently he has perceived that the organization is not defending him. Rumors indicate, potentially club-sourced, or not denied by the club, that they might accept a bid of €250 million for him and sell him.”

This affects him, and after the coach substituted him – fairly, because Vinicius stopped dropping back as expected – in Vinicius' head he says why single me out?’.”

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

Barcelona Style “Crumbles”

After winning each of the last season's Clasicos, the latest display represented their uncertain beginning of the season.

Fitness issues have deprived the manager of important stars such as Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo, and the approach isn't working in their absence.

The expert said, The squad seems lack sharpness defensively, less hungry to recover it, less aggressive to get the possession back.”

“It's easier to attack them. When the backline is not perfect, as it wasn't the Mbappe goal since the defender failed to step up, they receive little support by the midfield and forwards not challenging opponents in possession as expected.”

Yamal, who troubled Madrid in previous meetings, was neutralized.

“Their stars weren't at their best. Yamal doesn't feel like he's in good form, possibly because of injury issues