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It was practically a flawless outing for Xabi Alonso's squad, as they beat Barcelona two goals to one during the famous derby to stretch their lead in first place of La Liga to five points.

Jude Bellingham notched his maiden domestic strike and setup this term after a challenging period healing from shoulder surgery.

The French forward maintained his clinical performance in front of goal, and the manager's strategy during his debut Clasico as coach proved brilliantly.

Yet the Vinicius Junior question emerged again once more.

Unhappy with coming off, the Brazilian winger protested as he walked straight past his manager before marched to the dressing room, before reappearing on the sidelines after a short while.

Manager's Approach Gets Results from Bellingham

In his first derby, Alonso did well, given that the majority of Real's recent managers were defeated in their first La Liga match with Barcelona.

Following the player-focused approach from the previous coach did not deliver in the previous campaign, his structured approach yielded a significant outcome.

Spanish football analyst noted, His plan was perfect. Madrid were impressive, and the visitors were off-color due to the home team's approach.”

Defensively, they pushed up as much as possible, if overcome, they fell back in a structured manner, everybody including the forward.”

The team's shape with two banks separated by 5-10 meters. Barcelona struggled to penetrate.”

This approach appears to be good news for Bellingham, as he previously was essentially asked to cover multiple roles in midfield and beyond.

On paper Bellingham started wide right, but actually he had the freedom to drift inward and either assist the attack or crash the penalty area.

The analyst stated, “By using the French midfielder in central midfield, you get increased movement and additional options to block the channels.”

This led to them to position Bellingham on the right-hand side. Undoubtedly he would have been asked to track the runs of Mbappe in possession with room, connecting with him a few times.”

His instructions included to enter the area and operate on the edge of the box, where he is very dangerous. He also came inside to block central spaces and make Barca's task challenging.”

Vinicius Tensions Laid Bare

There's no doubting that the fans love Vinicius, calls for him rang out multiple times by an enthusiastic home supporters.

Yet recently there were numerous stories over the past period that the club could entertain selling him if an attractive proposal arrived.

Vinicius has a year left on his contract come the end of the season, yet discussions on a renewal are at a standstill.

The player's reaction to being replaced in the second half suggested strained relations. After the full-time whistle, he had to be restrained as he tried to approach Lamine Yamal.

The analyst said, Many will criticize him and rightly so, as it demonstrated a lack of respect toward his replacement who replaced him.”

However, from a young age, his life has been in a challenging environment, and he believes that everyone is against him.”

“That mentality is hard to change, particularly since you believe close to being the best player, then the club redirects attention in favor of Mbappe as the star.”

During this campaign he believes that Real Madrid has not supported him. Reports suggest, perhaps from within, or not denied by the club, that they might accept a bid of 250m euros for him and sell him.”

“He feels all that, and after he was taken off – reasonably, because Vinicius stopped dropping back as expected – to him he says ‘why me, why me again?.”

It may be challenging to reconcile between the club and the player currently.”

Barcelona Style “Struggles”

Having triumphed in all four of last season's matches, this outing was emblematic of Barca's shaky beginning of the season.

Fitness issues have deprived Hansi Flick of important stars including Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski plus others, and the approach is failing in their absence.

The analyst said, Barcelona appear is a little bit less sharp without the ball, with less desire to win it back, softer to get the possession back.”

Opponents find it simpler to break them down. Should the defense is not perfect, which was the case the Mbappe goal because Alejandro Balde failed to step up, the midfield doesn't assist from the attack failing to press those on the ball adequately.”

Lamine Yamal, who troubled Madrid earlier, was kept largely in check.

Key players weren't at their best. The youngster seems not he's in good form, possibly because of injury issues