Los Blancos Impressive yet Vinicius Junior Strains Escalate – Key El Clasico Talking Points
This proved to be almost a flawless day from Real Madrid, as they defeated their arch-rivals 2-1 during El Clasico and stretch their advantage at the top in La Liga to five points.
Bellingham notched his inaugural league goal and assist this campaign after a difficult period coming back from surgery on his shoulder.
Mbappe continued his deadly form in attack, while Alonso's tactics in his inaugural Clasico on the sidelines functioned brilliantly.
But then the Brazilian's situation emerged again another time.
Dissatisfied at his substitution, the Brazilian winger protested on his way right by his manager and marched down the tunnel, then reappearing to the substitute area several minutes.
Tactical Setup Delivers Success for Bellingham
For a debut Clasico, this wasn't a bad one, especially since the majority of Madrid's last eight coaches were defeated in their debut La Liga match with Barcelona.
After the laissez-faire style from the previous coach fell short last season, the new tactical system produced a significant outcome.
Spanish football analyst commented, The strategy worked brilliantly. Madrid performed excellently, while Barca struggled due to what Real Madrid were doing.”
“Without the ball, they pushed up for as long as they could, if overcome, they tracked back in an organised way, everybody including the forward.”
“They defended with two banks with a gap of 5-10 meters. Barca struggled to penetrate.”
The tactical change seems good news for Bellingham, who in the past had been tasked to do everything in the center and additional duties.
On paper Bellingham was positioned on the right, but actually he was allowed to move centrally and either link with Mbappe or crash the penalty area.
The analyst added, With Camavinga in the center, you get increased movement and better ability to close down the passing lanes.”
This led to the team to put Bellingham on the right-hand side. Undoubtedly he was instructed to monitor the forward's positioning in possession with room, and he found him repeatedly.”
“He was asked to enter the area and operate on just outside the box, where he poses a threat. He also drifted in to block central spaces and make the opponent's play tough.”
Strained Relations Laid Bare
It's clear that supporters adore Vinicius, his chant rang out multiple times by the passionate Bernabeu crowd.
But there have been numerous stories in recent months that Real Madrid would consider selling him if the right offer were to come in.
The winger will have a year left on his contract at the end of the campaign, yet talks over a new deal have not progressed.
Vinicius' behavior when substituted with 20 minutes left spoke of strained relations. After the full-time whistle, teammates intervened as he attempted to confront Lamine Yamal.
The analyst said, He will face backlash and justifiably, because it showed disrespect for Rodrygo who replaced him.”
Yet, growing up, he has lived in a hostile world, and perceives that everyone is against him.”
This mindset is tough to overcome, notably when you consider yourself near the best player, but the team redirects attention towards Mbappe as the star.”
Recently he believes that the club has not supported him. There are stories, potentially club-sourced, or unchallenged by officials, that they wouldn't be unhappy an offer worth a quarter-billion euros for him and sell him.”
This affects him, so when Alonso subbed him – fairly, since he wasn't defending as he should – in Vinicius' head he questions ‘why me, why me again?.”
It may be challenging to build a bridge among the parties and Vinicius now.”
Barcelona Style “Struggles”
Having triumphed in all four of previous campaign's matches, this outing represented their uncertain early form.
Injuries have robbed the manager of important stars such as Raphinha, Lewandowski and Olmo, and the tactical setup is not effective when they are missing.
The expert said, Barcelona appear lack sharpness without the ball, with less desire to win it back, with reduced intensity to get the possession back.”
“It's easier to attack them. Should the defense is not perfect, which was the case the first goal because Alejandro Balde played him onside, the midfield doesn't assist by teammates failing to press opponents in possession as expected.”
Lamine Yamal, tormentor-in-chief earlier, was kept largely in check.
“Their stars were below par. The youngster seems not in top condition, perhaps he's suffering from injury issues