Los Blancos Impressive yet Vinicius Issues Grow – Key Clasico Talking Points
The match represented almost a perfect day from Real Madrid, who beat Barcelona 2-1 in the Clasico and extend their advantage at the top of La Liga with a five-point cushion.
Jude Bellingham notched his maiden league goal along with setup this campaign after a tough spell recovering from a shoulder operation.
Kylian Mbappe continued his lethal form in attack, and the manager's strategy in his first El Clasico in the dugout worked brilliantly.
However the Vinicius Junior question emerged again yet again.
Dissatisfied with coming off, the Brazilian winger ranted while walking right by his manager before marched to the dressing room, then reappearing to the bench several minutes.
Tactical Setup Yields Results from Bellingham
In his first derby, Alonso did well, considering seven of Real's previous eight coaches were defeated in their initial La Liga encounter against Barca.
After the laissez-faire method of Carlo Ancelotti fell short earlier, the new tactical system yielded its first major result.
An expert noted, His plan was perfect. Real Madrid performed excellently, while Barcelona struggled because of what Real Madrid were doing.”
When not in possession, they pushed up for as long as they could, if overcome, they tracked back in an organised way, everybody even Vinicius.”
Their defensive setup in two lines spaced by 5-10 meters. Barcelona could not find a way through.”
This approach appears to be beneficial for Bellingham, as he in the past was expected to do everything in midfield and beyond.
Theoretically the young star started wide right, but in practice he was allowed to drift inward and link with Mbappe or crash the penalty area.
The analyst continued, “By using Camavinga in the center, it brings increased movement and better ability to block the passing lanes.”
This led to the team to put Bellingham on the right-hand side. Certainly he would have been asked to keep an eye on Mbappe's movements in possession and had space, connecting with him a few times.”
His instructions included to get into the box and operate on the outskirts of the area, his most effective zone. Additionally, he moved centrally to cut off passing options creating Barcelona's life challenging.”
Strained Relations Laid Bare
There's no doubting that supporters adore Vinicius, calls for him rang out on several occasions by the passionate home supporters.
Yet multiple numerous stories over the past period that the club could entertain letting him leave if the right offer were to come in.
Vinicius has one season to go on his deal when this term concludes, but negotiations for an extension are at a standstill.
His response after coming off in the second half spoke of tension. Post-game, teammates intervened as he tried to approach Lamine Yamal.
Balague commented, “Everyone will have a go at him and rightly so, as it demonstrated disrespect for Rodrygo who replaced him.”
“But since being a kid, he has existed in a challenging environment, and he believes that he faces opposition.”
Such thinking is hard to change, particularly since you consider yourself on the verge of number one in the world, then the club drives the axis to Mbappe as the star.”
“This season he has perceived that the organization is not defending him. There are stories, potentially club-sourced, or unchallenged by officials, that they might accept if someone paid a quarter-billion euros for him and let him go.”
This affects him, and when he was taken off – justifiably, since he wasn't defending as required – to him he thinks ‘why me, why me again?.”
It may be challenging to build a bridge among the parties and the player now.”
Their System “Crumbles”
After winning all four of previous campaign's derbies, Sunday's performance highlighted Barca's shaky beginning of the season.
Fitness issues have deprived Hansi Flick of important stars such as the Brazilian winger, Lewandowski plus others, and his system is not effective when they are missing.
The analyst said, “It's like the whole team lack sharpness defensively, with less desire to win it back, less aggressive to get the possession back.”
They are more vulnerable to create chances against them. If the defensive line is not perfect, as it wasn't Mbappe's strike because Alejandro Balde failed to step up, the midfield doesn't assist by teammates failing to press the ball-carrier adequately.”
Lamine Yamal, the main threat earlier, was neutralized.
Key players were below par. Yamal appears he's in good form, possibly because of injury issues