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This proved to be nearly a flawless outing from Real Madrid, as they defeated their arch-rivals 2-1 during the Clasico and stretch their lead in first place in the Spanish league to five points.

Bellingham got his first domestic strike along with setup of the season after a difficult few months coming back from surgery on his shoulder.

Mbappe continued his lethal performance when scoring, while Alonso's tactics in his inaugural El Clasico on the sidelines proved brilliantly.

However the Vinicius Junior question reared its head yet again.

Unhappy at coming off, the star forward protested as he walked straight past his manager before marched down the tunnel, before reappearing to the bench several minutes.

Tactical Setup Yields Success for Jude Bellingham

As first Clasicos go, it was a solid start, especially since the majority of Madrid's recent coaches lost their first league meeting with Barcelona.

After the laissez-faire method under Ancelotti failed to get results in the previous campaign, Alonso's positional game-model yielded an important victory.

A specialist noted, “He got it spot on. The home side were very good, while Barca didn't play well because of the home team's approach.”

When not in possession, they pressed high for as long as they could, and if they were beaten, they fell back in an organised way, everybody including Vinicius.”

“They defended with two banks separated by five to 10 metres. The opposition struggled to penetrate.”

This approach seems good news for Jude, who in the past had been tasked to cover multiple roles in the engine room and more.

In the lineup the 22-year-old was positioned on the right, but in practice he had the freedom to drift inward and assist the attack or enter the box.

Balague added, With the French midfielder in the middle, it brings increased movement and additional options to shut down the passing lanes.”

As a result the team to position Bellingham on the right-hand side. Certainly he would have been asked to keep an eye on Mbappe's movements when he had the ball and found openings, and he located him a few times.”

His instructions included to move into the penalty area and operate on the outskirts of the area, where he poses a threat. He also drifted in to close the inside channels creating Barcelona's life tough.”

Conflict Issues Revealed

It's clear that the fans adore Vinicius, his chant rang out repeatedly by a fervent Bernabeu crowd.

However there have been countless reports over the past period that the club could entertain letting him leave should a suitable bid arrived.

He will have a year left on his contract when this term concludes, yet discussions on a renewal have not progressed.

The player's reaction to being replaced late in the game spoke of issues. When the match ended, he had to be restrained as he tried to approach Yamal.

The expert commented, “Everyone will have a go at him and justifiably, since it displayed poor sportsmanship toward his replacement taking his place.”

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

Such thinking is difficult to shake, particularly since you feel on the verge of the best player, but the team drives the axis to Mbappe as the star.”

“This season he's felt that Real Madrid has not supported him. Rumors indicate, possibly leaked by the club, or not denied by the club, that they wouldn't be unhappy if someone paid €250 million for his transfer and let him go.”

“He feels all that, so when he was taken off – fairly, because Vinicius stopped dropping back as required – to him he says why single me out?’.”

It may be challenging to reconcile with the club and him now.”

Barca's Approach “Falls Apart”

Having triumphed in each of the recent matches, the latest display was emblematic of Barca's shaky beginning of the season.

Absences have left without the manager of important stars including the Brazilian winger, Robert Lewandowski and Olmo, and the tactical setup isn't working without them.

The analyst stated, “It's like the whole team are slightly off defensively, not as eager to regain possession, softer to reclaim the ball.”

They are more vulnerable to attack them. Should the defense is flawed, like on Mbappe's strike as Balde played him onside, they receive little support by teammates not challenging opponents in possession as well as they should.”

Lamine Yamal, the main threat of Real last season, was well contained.

“Their stars were below par. Yamal doesn't feel like he's in good form, perhaps he's suffering from injury issues