Los Blancos Strong but Vinicius Junior Issues Intensify – Major El Clasico Takeaways
The match represented almost a perfect performance for the Madrid side, as they beat Barca 2-1 during El Clasico and stretch their advantage at the summit of La Liga by five points.
Bellingham scored his first league goal and setup this term after a tough few months healing from a shoulder operation.
The French forward maintained his clinical form in attack, and the coach's game plan during his debut derby on the sidelines worked perfectly.
But then the Brazilian's situation came to the forefront yet again.
Unhappy with coming off, Vinicius protested on his way directly past the coach and headed off the pitch, then coming back on the sidelines later.
Alonso System Yields Success from Bellingham
In his first derby, this wasn't a bad one, considering seven of Madrid's recent bosses were defeated in their initial league meeting with Barca.
Following the laissez-faire approach from the previous coach fell short last season, Alonso's positional game-model yielded an important victory.
Spanish football analyst observed, His plan was perfect. Madrid were very good, and Barca didn't play well due to the home team's approach.”
“Without the ball, they pushed up consistently, if overcome, they fell back in an organised way, all players including the forward.”
Their defensive setup with two banks spaced by 5-10 meters. Barcelona were unable to break through.”
The new system appears to be beneficial for the midfielder, who in the past was expected to carry the midfield in midfield and beyond.
In the lineup the young star was positioned on the right, but in practice he had the freedom to move centrally and support Mbappe or crash the penalty area.
The expert stated, “By using Eduardo Camavinga in the middle, this provides greater energy and more ways to shut down the spaces.”
“That forced them to position Jude on the right-hand side. Undoubtedly he was instructed to track the forward's positioning on the ball and had space, and he located him repeatedly.”
His instructions included to move into the penalty area and operate on the outskirts of the area, where he poses a threat. He also drifted in to block central spaces and cause Barcelona's life challenging.”
Vinicius Tensions Revealed
Undoubtedly that Madridistas are fond of the Brazilian, his chant rang out repeatedly by an enthusiastic Bernabeu crowd.
However recently there were numerous stories in recent months that Real Madrid might think about allowing his departure if an attractive proposal was made.
Vinicius has one season to go on his contract come the end of the season, but negotiations for an extension have stalled.
His response after coming off late in the game spoke of issues. Post-game, he was held back as he tried to approach the Barcelona player.
Balague noted, He will face backlash and rightly so, as it demonstrated disrespect toward his replacement who came on for him.”
However, from a young age, his life has been in a challenging environment, and he believes that he faces opposition.”
This mindset is tough to overcome, notably when you believe close to being the best player, then the club shifts the focus to Mbappe as the key figure.”
During this campaign he believes that the club isn't protecting him. Reports suggest, possibly leaked by the club, or not denied by the club, that they might accept an offer worth €250 million to sign him and let him go.”
He is aware of this, and when the coach substituted him – justifiably, as he ceased tracking back as he should – to him he says why single me out?’.”
Building bridges will be tough to build a bridge among the parties and him currently.”
Their System “Struggles”
Having triumphed in all four of recent matches, Sunday's performance highlighted Barca's shaky start to the campaign.
Fitness issues have left without the manager of key players such as Raphinha, Lewandowski plus others, and his system isn't working without them.
The expert stated, The squad seems lack sharpness defensively, with less desire to win it back, softer in pressing.”
They are more vulnerable to attack them. If the defensive line is not organized, as it wasn't Mbappe's strike since the defender played him onside, they receive little support by the midfield and forwards not challenging the ball-carrier as well as they should.”
Yamal, who troubled Madrid earlier, was neutralized.
Key players were below par. Lamine seems not he's in good form, perhaps he's suffering from injury issues