Los Blancos Strong but Vinicius Issues Intensify – Key El Clasico Talking Points

This proved to be practically an ideal performance for the Madrid side, as they defeated Barca 2-1 during the famous derby and stretch their advantage at the top in the domestic championship with a five-point cushion.

Jude Bellingham got his maiden league goal along with key pass of the season after a challenging few months healing from shoulder surgery.

The French forward showed his lethal performance in front of goal, while the coach's game plan in his inaugural Clasico in the dugout functioned perfectly.

But then the Vinicius Junior question came to the forefront another time.

Unhappy at being substituted, Vinicius complained while walking straight past his manager and marched off the pitch, before returning to the bench several minutes.

Alonso System Gets Success for the Midfielder

As first Clasicos go, this wasn't a bad one, given that seven of Real's previous eight bosses were defeated in their initial La Liga match with Barca.

After the player-focused style of Carlo Ancelotti did not deliver earlier, his structured approach yielded a significant outcome.

Spanish football analyst noted, His plan was perfect. Madrid performed excellently, while Barca didn't play well due to the home team's approach.”

When not in possession, they pushed up as much as possible, and if they were beaten, they fell back in a structured manner, everybody even the forward.”

“They defended in two lines with a gap of five to 10 metres. The opposition struggled to penetrate.”

This approach looks to be beneficial for the midfielder, who in the past had been tasked to carry the midfield in the engine room and beyond.

On paper Bellingham was positioned on the right, but actually he was allowed to come inside and support Mbappe or enter the box.

Balague added, “By using the French midfielder in central midfield, this provides greater energy and more ways to close down the passing lanes.”

This led to the team to position Bellingham on the right-hand side. I'm sure he would have been asked to track the runs of Mbappe in possession with room, and he located him repeatedly.”

He was told to enter the area and position himself near the outskirts of the area, where he poses a threat. He also drifted in to cut off passing options and cause Barca's task tough.”

Vinicius Tensions Laid Bare

It's clear that Madridistas adore Vinicius, calls for him rang out multiple times by an enthusiastic home supporters.

Yet multiple countless reports in recent months that Los Blancos could entertain selling him if an attractive proposal was made.

He will have one season to go on his deal at the end of the campaign, but talks over a new deal are at a standstill.

His response after coming off with 20 minutes left spoke of issues. After the full-time whistle, he was held back when he moved toward Lamine Yamal.

The expert noted, Many will criticize him and rightly so, since it displayed a lack of respect for Rodrygo taking his place.”

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

Such thinking is hard to change, notably when you feel close to being the best player, then the club redirects attention in favor of Mbappe as the key figure.”

Recently he believes that Real Madrid isn't protecting him. Reports suggest, possibly leaked by the club, or with the club not denying it, that they might accept a bid of a quarter-billion euros for his transfer and sell him.”

He is aware of this, and when Alonso subbed him – reasonably, as he ceased tracking back as he should – in Vinicius' head he says ‘why me, why me again?.”

Building bridges will be tough to build a bridge with the club and him currently.”

Their System “Struggles”

Following victories in all four of previous campaign's Clasicos, Sunday's performance represented Barca's shaky early form.

Injuries have robbed the Barcelona coach of crucial contributors such as Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski plus others, and the approach is failing without them.

The analyst stated, “It's like the whole team are slightly off defensively, not as eager to regain possession, less aggressive to get the possession back.”

They are more vulnerable to create chances against them. Should the defense is not organized, which was the case Mbappe's strike because Alejandro Balde kept him onside, they are not helped by teammates not challenging the ball-carrier as well as they should.”

Lamine Yamal, who troubled Madrid earlier, was neutralized.

Key players were below par. The youngster doesn't feel like in top condition, perhaps he's suffering from injury issues

Anne Davis
Anne Davis

A tech analyst with over a decade of experience in digital transformation and emerging technologies, passionate about demystifying complex tech trends.