🔗 Share this article

It was almost an ideal performance from the Madrid side, as they overcame Barcelona by a 2-1 scoreline during El Clasico and stretch their lead in first place of the domestic championship by five points.

Jude Bellingham notched his first domestic strike and key pass this term after a challenging spell recovering from shoulder surgery.

Mbappe maintained his clinical form in attack, while the manager's strategy during his debut Clasico on the sidelines proved perfectly.

However the Brazilian's situation reared its head once more.

Frustrated with coming off, the Brazilian winger protested as he walked directly past his manager before headed down the tunnel, before reappearing to the substitute area after a short while.

Manager's Approach Yields Results for the Midfielder

As first Clasicos go, it was a solid start, considering the majority of Real's previous eight bosses were defeated in their debut La Liga encounter against Barca.

After the laissez-faire approach of Carlo Ancelotti did not deliver earlier, his structured approach delivered its first major result.

An expert observed, The strategy worked brilliantly. The home side were very good, while Barcelona didn't play well because of Madrid's tactics.”

Defensively, they pushed up as much as possible, if overcome, they fell back in a structured manner, all players including Vinicius.”

Their defensive setup with two banks spaced by 5-10 meters. Barcelona struggled to penetrate.”

The new system looks to be beneficial for the midfielder, who in the past had been tasked to do everything in midfield and beyond.

In the lineup Bellingham was positioned on the right, but in practice he could to come inside and either support Mbappe or enter the box.

Balague continued, With Eduardo Camavinga in the center, you get more dynamism and more ways to shut down the spaces.”

“That forced them to position Jude on the right flank. Undoubtedly his role included to monitor Mbappe's movements in possession and had space, and he located him on several occasions.”

He was told to enter the area and operate on the outskirts of the area, where he is very dangerous. He also drifted in to close the inside channels creating Barca's task tough.”

Conflict Issues Exposed

Undoubtedly that the fans adore Vinicius, calls for him were sung repeatedly by a fervent Madrid fans.

Yet there have been various accounts lately that Real Madrid could entertain letting him leave should a suitable bid arrived.

Vinicius will have one year remaining under his current terms when this term concludes, but discussions on a renewal have stalled.

The player's reaction when substituted in the second half suggested tension. After the full-time whistle, teammates intervened as he attempted to confront the Barcelona player.

The analyst commented, Many will criticize him and justifiably, because it showed poor sportsmanship for Rodrygo who came on for him.”

However, from a young age, his life has been in a hostile world, and perceives that the world is hostile.”

Such thinking is tough to overcome, especially when you consider yourself close to being the best player, but the team shifts the focus towards Mbappe as the key figure.”

During this campaign he believes that the organization is not defending him. There are stories, possibly leaked by the club, or unchallenged by officials, that they might accept a bid of a quarter-billion euros to sign him and sell him.”

“He feels all that, and when the coach substituted him – reasonably, as he ceased tracking back as expected – in his mind he questions ‘why me, why me again?.”

It may be challenging to build a bridge between the club and him at the moment.”

Their System “Falls Apart”

Following victories in all four of previous campaign's Clasicos, the latest display represented Barca's shaky early form.

Injuries have robbed the manager of key players such as the Brazilian winger, Lewandowski plus others, and his system is not effective when they are missing.

The expert stated, The squad seems are slightly off without the ball, with less desire to win it back, with reduced intensity to reclaim the ball.”

“It's easier to attack them. When the backline is flawed, like on the first goal since the defender played him onside, they receive little support by teammates not challenging opponents in possession as expected.”

Yamal, the main threat earlier, was neutralized.

The big names weren't at their best. The youngster doesn't feel like he's in good form, possibly because of a groin issue