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It was nearly an ideal outing from Xabi Alonso's squad, as they beat Barca by a 2-1 scoreline during the famous derby and stretch the gap at the top in La Liga by five points.

Jude Bellingham notched his maiden goal in the league and setup this campaign after a tough spell recovering from shoulder surgery.

The French forward continued his clinical form in front of goal, and the coach's game plan during his debut El Clasico in the dugout functioned perfectly.

Yet the Brazilian's situation reared its head once more.

Dissatisfied with his substitution, the Brazilian winger complained on his way straight past his manager before headed down the tunnel, then reappearing to the bench after a short while.

Manager's Approach Gets Positive Outcomes from the Midfielder

As first Clasicos go, this wasn't a bad one, given that the majority of Madrid's last eight managers were defeated in their initial La Liga meeting with Barca.

After the player-focused method from the previous coach fell short last season, his structured approach produced its first major result.

An expert observed, “He got it spot on. Madrid performed excellently, and Barcelona didn't play well because of what Real Madrid were doing.”

When not in possession, they pressed high as much as possible, and when bypassed, they tracked back in an organised way, everybody even Vinicius.”

“They defended in two layers with a gap of five to 10 metres. The opposition could not find a way through.”

The tactical change seems good news for Jude, as he in the past was essentially asked to cover multiple roles in the center and additional duties.

Theoretically Bellingham played on the right, but in practice he had the freedom to drift inward and support Mbappe or enter the box.

The analyst stated, With the French midfielder in the center, it brings increased movement and more ways to shut down the channels.”

“That forced the team to put Bellingham on the right-hand side. Undoubtedly he was instructed to monitor the forward's positioning on the ball with room, connecting with him repeatedly.”

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 close the inside channels creating Barcelona's life tough.”

Conflict Issues Revealed

It's clear that the fans adore Vinicius, calls for him rang out on several occasions by the passionate Madrid fans.

But there have been various accounts lately that Los Blancos could entertain allowing his departure if an attractive proposal arrived.

Vinicius will have one season to go on his contract when this term concludes, yet discussions on a renewal have stalled.

His response to being replaced with 20 minutes left spoke of strained relations. After the full-time whistle, teammates intervened as he attempted to confront Lamine Yamal.

Balague commented, Many will criticize him and rightly so, because it showed a lack of respect toward his replacement who replaced him.”

However, from a young age, his life has been in a challenging environment, and perceives that the world is hostile.”

“That mentality is hard to change, especially when you consider yourself on the verge of number one in the world, and the organization drives the axis towards Mbappe as the key figure.”

Recently he believes that the club has not supported him. Reports suggest, perhaps from within, or with the club not denying it, that they wouldn't be unhappy a bid of a quarter-billion euros to sign him and sell him.”

This affects him, and when Alonso subbed him – fairly, as he ceased tracking back as he should – in his mind he questions why single me out?’.”

“It will be difficult to reconcile with the club and him now.”

Their System “Falls Apart”

Having triumphed in each of the last season's Clasicos, this outing highlighted Barcelona's unconvincing beginning of the season.

Fitness issues have left without the Barcelona coach of important stars including Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski plus others, and his system isn't working when they are missing.

The expert stated, “It's like the whole team is a little bit less sharp when not in possession, less hungry to recover it, softer to reclaim the ball.”

“It's easier to break them down. When the backline is flawed, as it wasn't the first goal because Alejandro Balde played him onside, they receive little support by the midfield and forwards not closing down opponents in possession as well as they should.”

Lamine Yamal, tormentor-in-chief earlier, was neutralized.

Key players were below par. Yamal seems not in top condition, possibly because of injury issues