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This proved to be nearly a perfect outing from the Madrid side, as they overcame Barcelona 2-1 in the famous derby to extend their lead at the top in the Spanish league to five points.

The English midfielder scored his first league goal and key pass this campaign after a difficult spell recovering from a shoulder operation.

Kylian Mbappe showed his lethal performance when scoring, while the coach's game plan in his inaugural Clasico in the dugout worked brilliantly.

But then the issue surrounding Vinicius emerged again once more.

Dissatisfied at his substitution, Vinicius protested as he walked right by Xabi Alonso before headed off the pitch, before coming back to the bench later.

Manager's Approach Delivers Positive Outcomes from the Midfielder

As first Clasicos go, this wasn't a bad one, especially since the majority of Madrid's previous eight bosses were defeated in their debut league meeting with their rivals.

After the laissez-faire approach from the previous coach did not deliver last season, the new tactical system produced a significant outcome.

Spanish football analyst commented, “He got it spot on. The home side were very good, while Barcelona were off-color due to Madrid's tactics.”

“Without the ball, they pressed high as much as possible, and when bypassed, they fell back with discipline, everybody even Vinicius.”

The team's shape with two banks spaced by five to 10 metres. The opposition struggled to penetrate.”

The tactical change seems good news for the midfielder, who previously was essentially asked to cover multiple roles in the engine room and additional duties.

In the lineup Bellingham started wide right, however he had the freedom to move centrally and either assist the attack or get into scoring positions.

The expert continued, Employing the French midfielder in the middle, this provides greater energy and more ways to shut down the passing lanes.”

This led to the team to deploy Bellingham wide right. Certainly he would have been asked to monitor Mbappe's movements when he had the ball and had space, and he found him repeatedly.”

He was told to get into the box and position himself near the edge of the box, where he is very dangerous. Additionally, he moved centrally to block central spaces creating the opponent's play very difficult.”

Conflict Issues Laid Bare

There's no doubting that the fans adore Vinicius, his name was chanted multiple times by a fervent Madrid fans.

Yet there have been countless reports in recent months that the club would consider allowing his departure should a suitable bid arrived.

He will have one year remaining under his current terms at the end of the campaign, but discussions on a renewal have not progressed.

His response after coming off late in the game indicated issues. Post-game, he was held back as he attempted to confront the Barcelona player.

The expert commented, “Everyone will have a go at him for good reason, as it demonstrated disrespect for Rodrygo who came on for him.”

However, from a young age, his life has been amid adversity, and he believes that everyone is against him.”

“That mentality is tough to overcome, especially when you consider yourself close to being the top star, and the organization redirects attention to Mbappe as the star.”

Recently he's felt that the club has not supported him. Reports suggest, perhaps from within, or unchallenged by officials, that they might accept a bid of 250m euros for him and allow him to leave.”

“He feels all that, and after the coach substituted him – reasonably, because Vinicius stopped dropping back as he should – to him he says ‘why me, why me again?.”

Building bridges will be tough to reconcile with the club and the player at the moment.”

Barcelona Style “Falls Apart”

Having triumphed in all four of last season's matches, Sunday's performance highlighted Barcelona's unconvincing beginning of the season.

Absences have robbed Hansi Flick of important stars such as Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo, and the approach is not effective without them.

The expert stated, The squad seems lack sharpness when not in possession, not as eager to regain possession, less aggressive to get the possession back.”

They are more vulnerable to attack them. Should the defense is not organized, like on Mbappe's strike as Balde failed to step up, the midfield doesn't assist from the attack failing to press opponents in possession as well as they should.”

Lamine Yamal, the main threat in previous meetings, was neutralized.

“Their stars weren't at their best. Yamal appears in top condition, maybe due to injury issues