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It was nearly a perfect day for the Madrid side, who defeated Barca by a 2-1 scoreline in El Clasico and increase the gap at the top of the Spanish league to five points.

Bellingham got his first goal in the league along with assist of the season following a difficult few months recovering from a shoulder operation.

Mbappe showed his lethal form when scoring, and Alonso's tactics in his inaugural Clasico as coach worked like a charm.

However the Vinicius Junior question emerged again once more.

Unhappy at his substitution, the star forward protested as he walked straight past Xabi Alonso and stormed to the dressing room, before reappearing on the sidelines later.

Alonso System Delivers Success for Jude Bellingham

For a debut Clasico, this wasn't a bad one, especially since the majority of Madrid's last eight managers were defeated in their first league match with Barcelona.

Following the laissez-faire style under Ancelotti did not deliver in the previous campaign, the new tactical system delivered its first major result.

Spanish football analyst noted, The strategy worked brilliantly. Real Madrid were impressive, while Barca were off-color because of Madrid's tactics.”

Defensively, they pushed up as much as possible, and if they were beaten, they fell back with discipline, everybody even the forward.”

“They defended with two banks with a gap of a short distance. Barcelona struggled to penetrate.”

This approach seems positive for Jude, as he in the past was expected to cover multiple roles in the center and more.

On paper Bellingham played on the right, but actually he was allowed to move centrally and support Mbappe or get into scoring positions.

Balague continued, “By using the French midfielder in the center, this provides greater energy and additional options to block the channels.”

This led to them to position Jude wide right. Undoubtedly he was instructed to keep an eye on the forward's positioning when he had the ball and found openings, and he found him repeatedly.”

His instructions included to enter the area and be around the outskirts of the area, where he is very dangerous. He also came inside to cut off passing options and make the opponent's play very difficult.”

Strained Relations Exposed

Undoubtedly that Madridistas adore Vinicius, calls for him rang out multiple times by an enthusiastic Madrid fans.

However there have been various accounts in recent months that Real Madrid would consider allowing his departure if an attractive proposal was made.

Vinicius will have one season to go on his deal when this term concludes, yet discussions on a renewal are at a standstill.

The player's reaction after coming off with 20 minutes left suggested strained relations. After the full-time whistle, he was held back as he attempted to confront the Barcelona player.

Balague commented, “Everyone will have a go at him for good reason, as it demonstrated poor sportsmanship toward his replacement who replaced him.”

“But since being a kid, his life has been in a challenging environment, and he believes that everyone is against him.”

Such thinking is difficult to shake, especially when you feel on the verge of the top star, then the club shifts the focus towards Mbappe as the main man.”

During this campaign he's felt that the club has not supported him. There are stories, potentially club-sourced, or with the club not denying it, that they would be open an offer worth a quarter-billion euros to sign him and allow him to leave.”

“He feels all that, and when the coach substituted him – justifiably, because Vinicius stopped dropping back as expected – in his mind he says why always me?.”

“It will be difficult to build a bridge with the club and the player now.”

Barcelona Style “Struggles”

After winning each of the recent matches, this outing was emblematic of Barcelona's unconvincing early form.

Injuries have robbed the manager of important stars such as Raphinha, the striker plus others, and his system is failing when they are missing.

Balague stated, The squad seems is a little bit less sharp defensively, not as eager to regain possession, softer to get the possession back.”

“It's easier to attack them. Should the defense is not organized, as it wasn't Mbappe's strike since the defender kept him onside, the midfield doesn't assist from the attack not challenging the ball-carrier as well as they should.”

Lamine Yamal, tormentor-in-chief of Real last season, was neutralized.

“Their stars did not perform well. Lamine appears in top condition, maybe due to groin problems