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It was practically a perfect performance from Xabi Alonso's squad, as they defeated Barcelona by a 2-1 scoreline in El Clasico to extend their advantage in first place of the domestic championship by five points.

Jude Bellingham notched his maiden goal in the league and setup this campaign following a difficult spell coming back from a shoulder operation.

The French forward continued his deadly performance when scoring, while the coach's game plan in his inaugural derby on the sidelines worked like a charm.

However the issue surrounding Vinicius reared its head yet again.

Dissatisfied at coming off, the star forward ranted while walking straight past his manager and headed to the dressing room, then returning to the substitute area several minutes.

Tactical Setup Gets Positive Outcomes from the Midfielder

In his first derby, this wasn't a bad one, considering the majority of Madrid's recent bosses lost their first La Liga match with Barca.

After the relaxed method under Ancelotti did not deliver in the previous campaign, Alonso's positional game-model produced its first major result.

An expert commented, The strategy worked brilliantly. Madrid performed excellently, and Barca struggled because of the home team's approach.”

When not in possession, they pressed high as much as possible, if overcome, they fell back in an organised way, everybody including Vinicius.”

Their defensive setup in two layers separated by five to 10 metres. Barca could not find a way through.”

The tactical change appears to be beneficial for Jude, as he previously was essentially asked to carry the midfield in midfield and additional duties.

On paper Bellingham started wide right, however he could to drift inward and support Mbappe or get into scoring positions.

Balague added, “By using Eduardo Camavinga in central midfield, this provides increased movement and additional options to block the channels.”

This led to the team to position Bellingham wide right. I'm sure he would have been asked to track the runs of Mbappe on the ball and had space, and he located him a few times.”

“He was asked to enter the area and be around just outside the box, where he is very dangerous. He also came inside to block central spaces and make the opponent's play challenging.”

Strained Relations Revealed

It's clear that the fans love Vinicius, his name were sung on several occasions by the passionate Bernabeu crowd.

However there have been countless reports over the past period that the club might think about selling him should a suitable bid arrived.

Vinicius will have one season to go on his deal at the end of the campaign, yet discussions on a renewal have not progressed.

His response after coming off with 20 minutes left indicated tension. When the match ended, he was held back as he attempted to confront Yamal.

The analyst noted, Many will criticize him for good reason, since it displayed disrespect toward his replacement taking his place.”

Yet, growing up, his life has been in a challenging environment, and he believes that everyone is against him.”

This mindset is tough to overcome, especially when you consider yourself close to being number one in the world, then the club drives the axis in favor of Mbappe as the star.”

During this campaign he has perceived that Real Madrid isn't protecting him. There are stories, potentially club-sourced, or with the club not denying it, that they would be open if someone paid 250m euros to sign him and sell him.”

This affects him, so when Alonso subbed him – fairly, because Vinicius stopped dropping back as required – to him he questions ‘why me, why me again?.”

Building bridges will be tough to reconcile with the club and him currently.”

Barca's Approach “Struggles”

Having triumphed in each of the last season's derbies, Sunday's performance highlighted Barca's shaky early form.

Absences have robbed the Barcelona coach of important stars such as the Brazilian winger, Lewandowski plus others, and the tactical setup is not effective in their absence.

The analyst said, “It's like the whole team is a little bit less sharp defensively, with less desire to win it back, with reduced intensity in pressing.”

“It's easier to break them down. When the backline is not organized, which was the case the first goal as Balde kept him onside, they are not helped by teammates not closing down those on the ball as well as they should.”

The young talent, tormentor-in-chief earlier, was neutralized.

The big names were below par. The youngster seems not he's in good form, maybe due to injury issues