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“As long as I win they can’t say anything,” the young star previously stated, but this time he came up short and they were coming for him. They said he spoke too much; came the response that, indeed, they were going to see him off the pitch; the message was talk is cheap. And that was only the players: there was more from commentators in their pulpits, men who always have opinions.

Just before this epic clash, the teenager who claims he abandoned nervousness behind in his hometown suggested that the Madrid side rob and moan, according to reports. Additionally, he provided a reminder that the last time he had been the Santiago Bernabéu – as a youngster with blaugrana braces, a glint in his eye and his shooting ability was unexpected he had – his team triumphed 4-0. But that was then and this was now. Moreover, an adult currently, exactly a year on, he was beaten back. It was clear, they told him so.

Bellingham scores clásico decisive goal as Real Madrid pull clear of Barcelona

As the match conclusion sounded on an intense, intense 262nd clásico that was a little like past encounters, Lamine Yamal walked towards Madrid’s captain, hand out. Instead of accepting it, Carvajal made the classic jibber-jabber gesture. The match was challenging following with all the action that happened in over an hour and forty-five that preceded it, an encounter of 38 shots, three goals recorded and three more disallowed; now it was impossible.

All at once appeared players all around, racing back and forth of sight and piling in, security separating people away from each other. Amidst the melee, Madrid’s goalkeeper took up the offer to continue the dispute in the dressing room area. The Brazilian forward was restrained, he telling someone as well they are too vocal. Barcelona’s winger was running to intervene with his compatriot, the defender there too. “It was when we youth,” Aurélien Tchouaméni said.

Turning Point

Earlier this year, the French star posted: “They rejoice in our losses as if we will never win again. We’ll be back.” Real Madrid had just lost a clásico Spanish Cup showpiece 3-2 in extra time, a collective breakdown following the end, ice cubes being thrown. A fortnight afterwards, they suffered another loss. In four clásicos, Madrid had lost four times, La Liga, Copa del Rey and Super Cup going to Barcelona. Their defense allowed four, 5, 3 and 4. But there is always the future and it turned out he was right.

On just one occasion had Barcelona previously won five derbies consecutively, Pep Guardiola’s historic run ending with that 5-0 against Mourinho’s team, and it was not repeated. On Sunday, Madrid brought to a close the coach’s unbeaten start as manager, defeating their arch-rivals 2-1 to go a significant margin ahead at the top of the table.

What It Means

Madrid had needed this. Their post-match joy said so, players dancing together. So did the crowd’s roar, the Bernabéu louder and intense compared to on a clásico day for years: “incredible,” the English midfielder described it. Manager Xabi Alonso echoed this. Asked whether the win represented a weight off his shoulders, if there had been a psychosis around big games, a fixation, he responded: “That is the media’s narrative.” Yet he did admit that this was “more than a win, and our recent history and its importance for the squad; the players required that feeling of securing a victory in a major fixture.”

In the previous campaign they had not won any. On fourteen occasions they were defeated: Lille, Italian club, English team, Athletic, city rivals, Sevilla-based, Atlético, Valencia and London club all beat them. They did not achieve a single win against a top-tier opponent. Carlo Ancelotti went and succeeded by Alonso but it continued. The team won five games in the global tournament, indications of tactical organization emerging, an idea, however they faced PSG.

Current Campaign

That defeat belongs to last season, the coach stated. But the new campaign, his season, started with a winning streak in a row until city rivals came and put five past them. It was positive defeating Oviedo, Mallorca and Osasuna but what about the big teams? Now at last they defeated one of them too. Moreover it wasn’t just that they triumphed, it was the manner they achieved it.

The opposition were missing out: backup keeper, Gavi, attacking midfielder, star striker and defender were all missing. So too the winger, whose significance might now be fully recognised in absentia. Several players were not at 100%, defender and Lamine Yamal among them. On the bench they had several individuals who hadn’t started in La Liga, others who featured just one time; teenagers, four 18-year-olds and a couple who are nineteen. Plus a centre-back, Ronald Araújo, who finished the match up front again. Even head coach was absent, Hansi Flick banned and stuck in a commentary box. His assistant, his assistant, was on the touchline on three occasions: he has lost each one.

Tactical Analysis

Much is made of the team’s defensive setup, but their offense struggled well during the match. Among comments that were said at the young player that day, maybe the most revealing was from Vinícius during the game, taunting Yamal by saying: “You’re all retreating balls.” As for that backline, leakier compared to past with Iñigo Martínez leaving, defensive intensity on opponents decreasing and coordination off, one opponent made six clear chances against them, another team 5, Sevilla five, Catalan club three. Previously they trapped the French forward in an offside position on multiple occasions in a high-scoring game; however, lost amid losses, is the fact in their most recent match he got three goals, Real Madrid consistently positioned to get opportunities currently.

Key Moments

With this approach, especially. The match served as a start and also an end in itself. “Going forward we’re going to need a lot of what we did in this game,” the manager said. The team had shots result in goals five times – three efforts disallowed due to offside – failed to convert {a penalty|a spot-kick