Los Blancos Impressive yet Vinicius Junior Issues Intensify – Major El Clasico Highlights

This proved to be nearly a perfect performance from the Madrid side, as they beat Barca by a 2-1 scoreline during El Clasico to increase the gap in first place of the domestic championship with a five-point cushion.

Bellingham notched his first goal in the league and assist this campaign after a tough few months healing from shoulder surgery.

Mbappe maintained his deadly performance when scoring, and Alonso's tactics in his inaugural El Clasico as coach functioned like a charm.

But then the Brazilian's situation came to the forefront once more.

Dissatisfied at his substitution, Vinicius protested as he walked directly past the coach and stormed to the dressing room, then reappearing to the bench later.

Manager's Approach Gets Results from Jude Bellingham

For a debut Clasico, this wasn't a bad one, considering seven of Madrid's previous eight managers lost their first league match against their rivals.

After the player-focused style under Ancelotti failed to get results in the previous campaign, the new tactical system delivered its first major result.

An expert commented, “He got it spot on. The home side performed excellently, while Barca didn't play well due to Madrid's tactics.”

Defensively, they pushed up for as long as they could, and if they were beaten, they fell back in a structured manner, everybody even Vinicius.”

Their defensive setup in two lines separated by a short distance. Barcelona were unable to break through.”

This approach looks to be positive for Jude, as he last season was essentially asked to do everything in the center and additional duties.

On paper the 22-year-old started wide right, but actually he was allowed to drift inward and assist the attack or crash the penalty area.

The expert added, “By using the French midfielder in the middle, this provides more dynamism and better ability to block the passing lanes.”

“That forced the team to deploy Bellingham on the right-hand side. Certainly he would have been asked to keep an eye on the runs of Mbappe when he had the ball and had space, and he located him repeatedly.”

He was told to enter the area and position himself near the edge of the box, where he is very dangerous. He also drifted in to cut off passing options and make the opponent's play challenging.”

Conflict Issues Exposed

Undoubtedly that supporters adore Vinicius, his chant rang out repeatedly by an enthusiastic Madrid fans.

However recently there were numerous stories over the past period that Real Madrid would consider allowing his departure if an attractive proposal arrived.

Vinicius has a year left under his current terms when this term concludes, but talks over a new deal have not progressed.

Vinicius' behavior when substituted in the second half spoke of tension. After the full-time whistle, teammates intervened as he attempted to confront Lamine Yamal.

The analyst noted, “Everyone will have a go at him for good reason, as it demonstrated poor sportsmanship toward his replacement who came on for him.”

Yet, growing up, his life has been amid adversity, and perceives that the world is hostile.”

This mindset is difficult to shake, especially when you consider yourself close to being the best player, and the organization redirects attention in favor of Mbappe as the key figure.”

During this campaign he believes that the organization isn't protecting him. There are stories, possibly leaked by the club, or not denied by the club, that they might accept an offer worth 250m euros to sign him and sell him.”

He is aware of this, and after he was taken off – justifiably, since he wasn't defending as he should – in Vinicius' head he says why single me out?’.”

“It will be difficult to reconcile between the club and the player at the moment.”

Their System “Crumbles”

Having triumphed in each of the recent matches, this outing was emblematic of Barca's shaky early form.

Injuries have deprived the manager of important stars such as Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski plus others, and the approach is not effective in their absence.

The expert stated, “It's like the whole team are slightly off when not in possession, less hungry to recover it, with reduced intensity in pressing.”

Opponents find it simpler to break them down. If the defensive line is not organized, which was the case Mbappe's strike as Balde played him onside, they receive little support by the midfield and forwards not challenging the ball-carrier adequately.”

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

The big names weren't at their best. The youngster appears he is at his best, perhaps he's suffering from a groin issue

Carrie Ochoa
Carrie Ochoa

A seasoned esports coach and content creator passionate about helping gamers reach their full potential.