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It was practically an ideal day from the Madrid side, as they defeated Barcelona two goals to one in the Clasico to increase their advantage in first place in the domestic championship by five points.

Jude Bellingham got his maiden domestic strike along with setup this term following a challenging few months healing from a shoulder operation.

Mbappe continued his clinical touch when scoring, and Alonso's tactics in his first Clasico in the dugout worked brilliantly.

But then the Vinicius Junior question came to the forefront yet again.

Unhappy with coming off, the star forward complained as he walked straight past his manager before headed down the tunnel, before coming back on the sidelines later.

Tactical Setup Yields Results from the Midfielder

As first Clasicos go, Alonso did well, given that the majority of Madrid's last eight coaches lost their first league match against Barca.

After the laissez-faire method under Ancelotti failed to get results in the previous campaign, his structured approach produced an important victory.

Spanish football analyst commented, “He got it spot on. Real Madrid were very good, and Barca didn't play well because of the home team's approach.”

Defensively, they pressed high as much as possible, and when bypassed, they retreated in an organised way, everybody even Vinicius.”

“They defended in two lines separated by 5-10 meters. The opposition could not find a way through.”

The new system appears to be good news for Jude, as he previously was essentially asked to carry the midfield in the engine room and more.

On paper the 22-year-old was positioned on the right, but in practice he was allowed to drift inward and either link with Mbappe or enter the box.

Balague continued, “By using the French midfielder in central midfield, this provides increased movement and better ability to close down the channels.”

This led to them to deploy Jude on the right flank. Certainly he was instructed to keep an eye on the forward's positioning when he had the ball and found openings, connecting with him repeatedly.”

His instructions included to enter the area and be around just outside the box, where he is very dangerous. Additionally, he moved centrally to block central spaces creating the opponent's play tough.”

Conflict Issues Laid Bare

There's no doubting that Madridistas love Vinicius, calls for him were sung multiple times by the passionate Madrid fans.

Yet recently there were various accounts lately that the club might think about allowing his departure should a suitable bid was made.

Vinicius has one season to go on his contract come the end of the season, yet discussions on a renewal are at a standstill.

The player's reaction to being replaced in the second half indicated strained relations. Post-game, teammates intervened when he moved toward the Barcelona player.

The analyst noted, “Everyone will have a go at him for good reason, because it showed disrespect for the substitute who replaced him.”

However, from a young age, his life has been in a challenging environment, and he feels that everyone is against him.”

This mindset is difficult to shake, notably when you feel on the verge of number one in the world, but the team redirects attention in favor of Mbappe as the main man.”

During this campaign he believes that the club is not defending him. Reports suggest, potentially club-sourced, or with the club not denying it, that they might accept if someone paid 250m euros for him and allow him to leave.”

“He feels all that, and when he was taken off – reasonably, as he ceased tracking back as he should – in Vinicius' head he thinks why always me?.”

“It will be difficult to mend relations with the club and Vinicius at the moment.”

Their System “Struggles”

Having triumphed in all four of previous campaign's Clasicos, this outing represented Barcelona's unconvincing beginning of the season.

Injuries have deprived Hansi Flick of crucial contributors such as Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo, and the tactical setup isn't working when they are missing.

Balague said, The squad seems lack sharpness without the ball, not as eager to regain possession, less aggressive to get the possession back.”

Opponents find it simpler to break them down. Should the defense is flawed, which was the case the Mbappe goal because Alejandro Balde failed to step up, they are not helped from the attack not closing down opponents in possession as well as they should.”

Lamine Yamal, the main threat of Real last season, was neutralized.

Key players weren't at their best. The youngster doesn't feel like in top condition, perhaps he's suffering from groin problems