The Madrid Giants Strong yet Vinicius Strains Grow – Important El Clasico Talking Points

The match represented practically an ideal day for Real Madrid, who defeated Barca 2-1 in the famous derby to stretch their advantage at the summit in La Liga to five points.

The English midfielder scored his first league goal along with setup this term after a tough few months coming back from surgery on his shoulder.

Mbappe continued his deadly form when scoring, while Alonso's tactics in his inaugural El Clasico as coach proved brilliantly.

Yet the Brazilian's situation came to the forefront once more.

Unhappy at coming off, the Brazilian winger ranted as he walked directly past his manager before headed off the pitch, before returning on the sidelines after a short while.

Alonso System Yields Success from Bellingham

As first Clasicos go, Alonso did well, considering seven of Real's previous eight managers were defeated in their debut league match with Barcelona.

Following the player-focused approach under Ancelotti did not deliver last season, his structured approach produced an important victory.

An expert commented, The strategy worked brilliantly. Real Madrid were impressive, while the visitors were off-color because of what Real Madrid were doing.”

Defensively, they applied pressure for as long as they could, and if they were beaten, they retreated in a structured manner, everybody even Vinicius.”

“They defended with two banks separated by a short distance. The opposition could not find a way through.”

This approach looks to be good news for Bellingham, as he in the past was essentially asked to cover multiple roles in midfield and more.

In the lineup the young star was positioned on the right, but actually he was allowed to move centrally and either support Mbappe or get into scoring positions.

The expert stated, With the French midfielder in central midfield, it brings greater energy and additional options to shut down the passing lanes.”

“That forced the team to deploy Bellingham on the right-hand side. I'm sure he was instructed to keep an eye on the forward's positioning in possession with room, and he found him a few times.”

He was told to enter the area and position himself near the outskirts of the area, where he is very dangerous. He also came inside to close the inside channels creating Barcelona's life tough.”

Vinicius Tensions Exposed

There's no doubting that Madridistas love Vinicius, his chant was chanted multiple times by the passionate home supporters.

But multiple numerous stories over the past period that Real Madrid would consider allowing his departure if the right offer arrived.

He will have one season to go on his contract come the end of the season, yet negotiations for an extension have stalled.

Vinicius' behavior when substituted with 20 minutes left indicated tension. After the full-time whistle, he was held back when he moved toward Yamal.

The expert commented, “Everyone will have a go at him for good reason, as it demonstrated poor sportsmanship for Rodrygo who replaced him.”

“But since being a kid, his life has been amid adversity, and perceives that everyone is against him.”

This mindset is tough to overcome, especially when you feel close to being the best player, but the team drives the axis towards Mbappe as the star.”

Recently he believes that the club isn't protecting him. There are stories, possibly leaked by the club, or not denied by the club, that they wouldn't be unhappy a bid of a quarter-billion euros for his transfer and allow him to leave.”

“He feels all that, so when the coach substituted him – fairly, because Vinicius stopped dropping back as required – in his mind he thinks why always me?.”

Building bridges will be tough to reconcile between the club and the player at the moment.”

Their System “Struggles”

Following victories in all four of recent Clasicos, this outing was emblematic of Barca's shaky beginning of the season.

Absences have robbed the manager of important stars such as Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo, and the tactical setup is failing in their absence.

The expert commented, Barcelona appear is a little bit less sharp defensively, with less desire to win it back, with reduced intensity to get the possession back.”

They are more vulnerable to break them down. When the backline is flawed, as it wasn't the Mbappe goal since the defender played him onside, the midfield doesn't assist by the midfield and forwards not closing down those on the ball as expected.”

The young talent, the main threat earlier, was neutralized.

“Their stars weren't at their best. The youngster seems not in top condition, maybe due to groin problems