Real Madrid Strong but Vinicius Junior Tensions Grow – Important El Clasico Takeaways
The match represented practically a flawless day from Xabi Alonso's squad, as they beat Barcelona 2-1 during the Clasico and extend their lead at the summit of La Liga to five points.
The English midfielder scored his inaugural domestic strike along with assist of the season following a challenging period recovering from a shoulder operation.
The French forward continued his clinical form when scoring, and Alonso's tactics in his inaugural derby as coach functioned perfectly.
However the issue surrounding Vinicius reared its head yet again.
Unhappy at his substitution, the star forward complained while walking directly past the coach and marched down the tunnel, before coming back to the bench after a short while.
Manager's Approach Gets Results for Bellingham
As first Clasicos go, this wasn't a bad one, especially since seven of Real's recent bosses were defeated in their debut league meeting with Barcelona.
Following the laissez-faire method from the previous coach failed to get results last season, the new tactical system delivered a significant outcome.
A specialist commented, His plan was perfect. Real Madrid were impressive, and Barcelona were off-color because of what Real Madrid were doing.”
Defensively, they pressed high as much as possible, if overcome, they tracked back in a structured manner, all players even the forward.”
Their defensive setup in two layers spaced by five to 10 metres. Barca were unable to break through.”
This approach looks to be beneficial for the midfielder, who last season was expected to do everything in the engine room and additional duties.
In the lineup the young star was positioned on the right, but actually he was allowed to come inside and support Mbappe or get into scoring positions.
The analyst stated, Employing Eduardo Camavinga in central midfield, it brings more dynamism and more ways to close down the spaces.”
This led to them to deploy Bellingham on the right flank. Undoubtedly his role included to monitor Mbappe's movements when he had the ball with room, and he found him repeatedly.”
“He was asked to move into the penalty area and operate on just outside the box, where he poses a threat. He also drifted in to cut off passing options and cause Barca's task tough.”
Strained Relations Laid Bare
Undoubtedly that Madridistas love Vinicius, calls for him were sung on several occasions by an enthusiastic Madrid fans.
Yet there have been numerous stories over the past period that Real Madrid might think about letting him leave if an attractive proposal was made.
Vinicius will have one season to go under his current terms at the end of the campaign, but negotiations for an extension have stalled.
The player's reaction after coming off late in the game spoke of issues. When the match ended, teammates intervened as he attempted to confront the Barcelona player.
The expert commented, Many will criticize him and rightly so, since it displayed disrespect for the substitute who came on for him.”
However, from a young age, he has lived in a challenging environment, and perceives that everyone is against him.”
“That mentality is tough to overcome, particularly since you consider yourself close to being the best player, but the team redirects attention to Mbappe as the key figure.”
During this campaign he believes that Real Madrid is not defending him. Reports suggest, possibly leaked by the club, or with the club not denying it, that they wouldn't be unhappy a bid of a quarter-billion euros for his transfer and sell him.”
This affects him, so when the coach substituted him – justifiably, as he ceased tracking back as he should – in Vinicius' head he thinks why always me?.”
Building bridges will be tough to reconcile between the club and the player at the moment.”
Their System “Crumbles”
Having triumphed in each of the previous campaign's matches, this outing was emblematic of Barcelona's unconvincing early form.
Injuries have robbed the Barcelona coach of crucial contributors such as the Brazilian winger, Lewandowski and Olmo, and the tactical setup is failing in their absence.
Balague stated, “It's like the whole team lack sharpness when not in possession, less hungry to recover it, softer to reclaim the ball.”
“It's easier to create chances against them. When the backline is not perfect, like on the Mbappe goal since the defender played him onside, they are not helped by teammates not challenging opponents in possession adequately.”
Yamal, tormentor-in-chief in previous meetings, was well contained.
Key players did not perform well. The youngster seems not he's in good form, perhaps he's suffering from a groin issue