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It was practically an ideal performance for Xabi Alonso's squad, as they defeated Barcelona by a 2-1 scoreline in the famous derby to increase the gap at the top of La Liga to five points.

Jude Bellingham got his first domestic strike and setup this term after a tough period recovering from a shoulder operation.

Kylian Mbappe continued his clinical performance in front of goal, while the manager's strategy in his inaugural Clasico in the dugout worked perfectly.

Yet the Vinicius Junior question came to the forefront another time.

Frustrated with his substitution, Vinicius ranted while walking straight past Xabi Alonso and stormed off the pitch, before coming back to the substitute area several minutes.

Alonso System Yields Results from the Midfielder

In his first derby, this wasn't a bad one, given that seven of Real's previous eight bosses were defeated in their debut La Liga match against Barcelona.

Following the relaxed style of Carlo Ancelotti fell short last season, his structured approach delivered its first major result.

An expert observed, The strategy worked brilliantly. The home side performed excellently, while Barca didn't play well due to what Real Madrid were doing.”

When not in possession, they pushed up for as long as they could, and when bypassed, they tracked back in a structured manner, everybody even Vinicius.”

The team's shape with two banks spaced by five to 10 metres. The opposition were unable to break through.”

This approach seems beneficial for Bellingham, as he previously had been tasked to cover multiple roles in the engine room and beyond.

On paper the 22-year-old started wide right, but in practice he could to move centrally and either link with Mbappe or get into scoring positions.

The analyst added, “By using Eduardo Camavinga in central midfield, you get greater energy and better ability to close down the channels.”

This led to the team to deploy Bellingham on the right flank. Certainly he was instructed to monitor the runs of Mbappe in possession and had space, and he located him repeatedly.”

His instructions included to move into the penalty area and position himself near just outside the box, where he is very dangerous. He also drifted in to close the inside channels creating Barca's task tough.”

Conflict Issues Exposed

It's clear that supporters love Vinicius, his chant were sung on several occasions by a fervent Bernabeu crowd.

Yet recently there were countless reports over the past period that Los Blancos would consider selling him should a suitable bid were to come in.

The winger will have a year left on his deal come the end of the season, but negotiations for an extension have stalled.

Vinicius' behavior after coming off late in the game spoke of tension. After the full-time whistle, teammates intervened as he tried to approach Lamine Yamal.

The expert noted, He will face backlash for good reason, as it demonstrated poor sportsmanship for Rodrygo who came on for him.”

“But since being a kid, he has existed in a challenging environment, and he believes that everyone is against him.”

Such thinking is hard to change, notably when you believe near the top star, then the club drives the axis towards Mbappe as the star.”

Recently he's felt that Real Madrid is not defending him. There are stories, potentially club-sourced, or not denied by the club, that they wouldn't be unhappy a bid of €250 million for him and let him go.”

This affects him, and after he was taken off – reasonably, since he wasn't defending as expected – in his mind he says ‘why me, why me again?.”

Building bridges will be tough to reconcile among the parties and the player at the moment.”

Barcelona Style “Falls Apart”

Having triumphed in each of the previous campaign's matches, Sunday's performance was emblematic of their uncertain beginning of the season.

Injuries have robbed Hansi Flick of crucial contributors including Raphinha, the striker plus others, and the approach is failing when they are missing.

The analyst stated, The squad seems are slightly off when not in possession, with less desire to win it back, softer to reclaim the ball.”

“It's easier to create chances against them. When the backline is flawed, as it wasn't the first goal since the defender failed to step up, they receive little support by the midfield and forwards failing to press the ball-carrier as expected.”

The young talent, the main threat earlier, was neutralized.

Key players did not perform well. Yamal appears he's in good form, perhaps he's suffering from a groin issue