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It was nearly an ideal day from Real Madrid, who defeated Barca two goals to one in the famous derby to stretch the gap in first place in La Liga to five points.

Bellingham scored his inaugural domestic strike along with key pass this campaign after a challenging few months recovering from a shoulder operation.

Kylian Mbappe maintained his clinical performance when scoring, and Alonso's tactics during his debut derby in the dugout worked perfectly.

But then the Vinicius Junior question came to the forefront once more.

Dissatisfied at his substitution, the star forward protested while walking right by his manager and stormed to the dressing room, before coming back on the sidelines after a short while.

Tactical Setup Delivers Results for the Midfielder

For a debut Clasico, this wasn't a bad one, given that the majority of Real's recent managers were defeated in their debut league meeting with their rivals.

After the relaxed method of Carlo Ancelotti failed to get results in the previous campaign, Alonso's positional game-model yielded a significant outcome.

Spanish football analyst commented, His plan was perfect. Madrid were very good, while Barcelona struggled because of Madrid's tactics.”

“Without the ball, they applied pressure as much as possible, and if they were beaten, they fell back with discipline, everybody including the forward.”

The team's shape with two banks spaced by a short distance. Barcelona were unable to break through.”

The tactical change looks to be good news for the midfielder, who in the past was expected to cover multiple roles in midfield and more.

On paper Bellingham started wide right, but actually he was allowed to move centrally and either link with Mbappe or enter the box.

Balague stated, With the French midfielder in the center, it brings increased movement and more ways to shut down the passing lanes.”

This led to the team to deploy Bellingham on the right-hand side. Certainly he was instructed to track the forward's positioning on the ball with room, and he found him a few times.”

He was told to enter the area and operate on just outside the box, where he poses a threat. Additionally, he moved centrally to close the inside channels and make Barcelona's life challenging.”

Conflict Issues Laid Bare

There's no doubting that the fans love Vinicius, calls for him rang out repeatedly by a fervent Madrid fans.

Yet there have been various accounts lately that the club could entertain selling him if an attractive proposal arrived.

Vinicius will have one season to go under his current terms at the end of the campaign, yet negotiations for an extension have not progressed.

Vinicius' behavior to being replaced with 20 minutes left spoke of issues. Post-game, he was held back as he attempted to confront the Barcelona player.

The expert commented, He will face backlash for good reason, since it displayed a lack of respect for the substitute who came on for him.”

“But since being a kid, his life has been in a challenging environment, and he believes that the world is hostile.”

This mindset is tough to overcome, particularly since you believe on the verge of the best player, and the organization redirects attention in favor of Mbappe as the star.”

“This season he has perceived that the club is not defending him. Reports suggest, perhaps from within, or not denied by the club, that they would be open an offer worth €250 million to sign him and sell him.”

“He feels all that, and after the coach substituted him – fairly, because Vinicius stopped dropping back as expected – to him he says why always me?.”

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

Barcelona Style “Crumbles”

Following victories in each of the recent matches, this outing represented Barca's shaky early form.

Fitness issues have deprived the Barcelona coach of important stars such as the Brazilian winger, Robert Lewandowski plus others, and the tactical setup isn't working without them.

The analyst commented, Barcelona appear are slightly off without the ball, less hungry to recover it, less aggressive to reclaim the ball.”

They are more vulnerable to create chances against them. Should the defense is not perfect, as it wasn't the first goal as Balde failed to step up, the midfield doesn't assist by teammates not closing down those on the ball as expected.”

Lamine Yamal, tormentor-in-chief earlier, was kept largely in check.

Key players weren't at their best. Yamal doesn't feel like he is at his best, possibly because of groin problems