Source: BBC Football
Real Madrid impress but Vinicius tension grows – Clasico talking pointsByAlex BrothertonBBC Sport journalistPublished26 October 2025351 CommentsIt was almost the perfect day for Real Madrid as Xabi Alonso’s sidebeat Barcelona 2-1in El Clasico to go five points clear at the top of La Liga.Jude Bellingham got his first league goal and assist of the season after a difficult few months recovering from shoulder surgery.Kylian Mbappe continued his lethal form in front of goal, while Alonso’s tactics in his first Clasico in the dugout worked like a charm.But then the Vinicius Jr question reared its head once more.Unhappy with being substituted in the 72nd minute, the Brazilian winger ranted as he walked straight past his manager and stormed down the tunnel, before returning to the bench several minutes later.BBC Sport spoke to Spanish football expert Guillem Balague to get his takeaways from a fiery Clasico at the Bernabeu, and whether or not Vinicius’ frosty relationship with his club will ever thaw.Alonso system gets results from BellinghamAs first Clasicos go, this wasn’t a bad one for Alonso. Seven of Real’s previous eight managers lost their first La Liga meeting with Barcelona.After the laissez-faire, player-orientated approach of Carlo Ancelotti failed to get results last season, Alonso’s positional game-model yielded its first major result.”He got it spot on. Real Madrid were very good, and Barcelona didn’t play well because of what Real Madrid were doing,” Balague told BBC Sport.”Without the ball they pressed high for as long as they could, and if they were beaten, they tracked back in an organised way, everybody including Vinicius.”They defended in two lines separated by five to 10 metres. Barcelona could not find a way through.”The new system looks to be good news for Bellingham, who last season was essentially asked to do everything in midfield and more.On paper the 22-year-old played on the right of midfield, but in practice he had the freedom to come inside and either support Mbappe or crash the penalty area.”By using Eduardo Camavinga in central midfield, you get more dynamism and more ways to close down the channels,” said Balague.”That forced them to put Bellingham on the right-hand side. I’m sure he would have been asked to keep an eye on the runs of Mbappe when he had the ball and had space, and he found him a few times.”He was asked to get into the box and be around the edge of the box, where he is very dangerous. He also came inside to close the inside channels and make Barcelona’s life very difficult.”Vinicius tensions laid bareThere’s no doubting that Madridistas love Vinicius, his name was chanted on several occasions by a fervent Bernabeu crowd.But there have been countless reports in recent months that Los Blancos would consider letting him leave if the right offer were to come in.Vinicius will have one year remaining on his contract come the end of the season, but talks over a new deal have stalled.The player’s reaction to bei…
Published: 2025-10-26T20:28:17
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