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It was almost a perfect day for the Madrid side, who beat Barca 2-1 in El Clasico to increase their advantage in first place of La Liga with a five-point cushion.

Jude Bellingham scored his inaugural goal in the league and assist of the season after a difficult period healing from surgery on his shoulder.

Kylian Mbappe continued his clinical touch when scoring, and the manager's strategy during his debut derby in the dugout functioned like a charm.

Yet the Vinicius Junior question came to the forefront yet again.

Dissatisfied with coming off, Vinicius complained as he walked directly past his manager before marched down the tunnel, before reappearing to the bench several minutes.

Alonso System Delivers Results from Jude Bellingham

As first Clasicos go, this wasn't a bad one, given that the majority of Madrid's last eight bosses were defeated in their first league meeting against their rivals.

Following the laissez-faire approach of Carlo Ancelotti failed to get results earlier, the new tactical system yielded its first major result.

Spanish football analyst observed, The strategy worked brilliantly. Madrid were impressive, while Barca were off-color because of what Real Madrid were doing.”

When not in possession, they pressed high for as long as they could, and when bypassed, they fell back in an organised way, all players even the forward.”

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

The new system appears to be positive for Bellingham, who last season was essentially asked to cover multiple roles in the center and additional duties.

In the lineup Bellingham started wide right, but in practice he was allowed to move centrally and either support Mbappe or enter the box.

Balague continued, “By using Camavinga in central midfield, this provides greater energy and better ability to close down the spaces.”

This led to the team to deploy Bellingham on the right flank. Certainly he would have been asked to track the runs of Mbappe when he had the ball with room, and he located him on several occasions.”

His instructions included to move into the penalty area and operate on the outskirts of the area, his most effective zone. He also drifted in to cut off passing options and cause Barca's task tough.”

Conflict Issues Laid Bare

It's clear that supporters are fond of the Brazilian, his chant was chanted multiple times by a fervent Bernabeu crowd.

But recently there were various accounts in recent months that Real Madrid would consider letting him leave if an attractive proposal arrived.

He has a year left on his contract when this term concludes, yet talks over a new deal have not progressed.

The player's reaction after coming off late in the game indicated strained relations. After the full-time whistle, he was held back when he moved toward the Barcelona player.

The expert noted, He will face backlash and rightly so, because it showed disrespect toward his replacement taking his place.”

“But since being a kid, his life has been amid adversity, and perceives that the world is hostile.”

“That mentality is hard to change, especially when you consider yourself close to being number one in the world, but the team shifts the focus towards Mbappe as the main man.”

During this campaign he has perceived that the club is not defending him. Rumors indicate, perhaps from within, or not denied by the club, that they wouldn't be unhappy an offer worth a quarter-billion euros to sign him and sell him.”

This affects him, so when the coach substituted him – reasonably, because Vinicius stopped dropping back as required – in Vinicius' head he thinks ‘why me, why me again?.”

Building bridges will be tough to build a bridge between the club and him now.”

Barca's Approach “Falls Apart”

Having triumphed in each of the last season's Clasicos, the latest display represented Barcelona's unconvincing beginning of the season.

Absences have robbed the manager of important stars such as Raphinha, Lewandowski and Olmo, and the approach is failing in their absence.

The analyst commented, The squad seems is a little bit less sharp when not in possession, not as eager to regain possession, with reduced intensity to get the possession back.”

“It's easier to break them down. When the backline is not perfect, as it wasn't Mbappe's strike because Alejandro Balde failed to step up, they receive little support from the attack not closing down opponents in possession as expected.”

Yamal, the main threat earlier, was kept largely in check.

“Their stars did not perform well. The youngster appears he is at his best, possibly because of a groin issue