Los Blancos Impressive yet Vinicius Junior Strains Intensify – Key El Clasico Takeaways
It was nearly a flawless outing from Real Madrid, as they overcame Barcelona two goals to one in El Clasico and extend their lead in first place of the Spanish league to five points.
Bellingham scored his inaugural league goal and key pass this term after a difficult spell coming back from surgery on his shoulder.
Mbappe maintained his deadly form when scoring, while Alonso's tactics in his first Clasico as coach worked like a charm.
But then the Vinicius Junior question emerged again another time.
Unhappy at his substitution, the star forward ranted as he walked straight past his manager and stormed to the dressing room, before coming back on the sidelines after a short while.
Tactical Setup Delivers Results from Jude Bellingham
As first Clasicos go, this wasn't a bad one, given that seven of Madrid's last eight managers lost their debut La Liga match against their rivals.
Following the relaxed approach from the previous coach failed to get results last season, the new tactical system yielded a significant outcome.
Spanish football analyst noted, His plan was perfect. The home side were very good, and the visitors didn't play well due to the home team's approach.”
Defensively, they applied pressure consistently, if overcome, they fell back in an organised way, everybody including Vinicius.”
“They defended in two lines with a gap of 5-10 meters. The opposition were unable to break through.”
The new system appears to be beneficial for Bellingham, as he previously was essentially asked to do everything in the engine room and additional duties.
In the lineup the young star was positioned on the right, however he could to drift inward and either link with Mbappe or crash the penalty area.
Balague continued, With the French midfielder in central midfield, you get increased movement and more ways to close down the channels.”
This led to the team to deploy Jude wide right. Certainly his role included to keep an eye on Mbappe's movements in possession and had space, and he found him on several occasions.”
“He was asked to move into the penalty area and position himself near the edge of the box, where he poses a threat. Additionally, he moved centrally to close the inside channels creating Barcelona's life very difficult.”
Strained Relations Exposed
There's no doubting that the fans are fond of the Brazilian, calls for him rang out on several occasions by the passionate home supporters.
But recently there were countless reports in recent months that Real Madrid might think about letting him leave if the right offer was made.
Vinicius will have one season to go under his current terms come the end of the season, but discussions on a renewal have stalled.
His response when substituted with 20 minutes left indicated issues. Post-game, teammates intervened when he moved toward Lamine Yamal.
The expert said, Many will criticize him and justifiably, because it showed a lack of respect toward his replacement taking his place.”
Yet, growing up, he has lived in a hostile world, and perceives that everyone is against him.”
Such thinking is hard to change, particularly since you consider yourself near number one in the world, then the club drives the axis towards Mbappe as the star.”
During this campaign he believes that the organization has not supported him. Rumors indicate, possibly leaked by the club, or with the club not denying it, that they would be open if someone paid €250 million for him and let him go.”
He is aware of this, and after Alonso subbed him – justifiably, as he ceased tracking back as expected – in Vinicius' head he thinks why single me out?’.”
It may be challenging to build a bridge between the club and him currently.”
Barcelona Style “Crumbles”
Following victories in all four of previous campaign's matches, the latest display was emblematic of Barca's shaky beginning of the season.
Absences have left without the Barcelona coach of crucial contributors including Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo, and his system isn't working in their absence.
The expert said, “It's like the whole team is a little bit less sharp when not in possession, less hungry to recover it, less aggressive to get the possession back.”
Opponents find it simpler to attack them. If the defensive line is flawed, like on the Mbappe goal since the defender kept him onside, they receive little support by teammates not closing down the ball-carrier as expected.”
The young talent, tormentor-in-chief in previous meetings, was kept largely in check.
The big names were below par. Lamine appears in top condition, perhaps he's suffering from groin problems