MADRID, Spain
It was almost the perfect day for Real Madrid as Xabi Alonso's side beat Barcelona 2-1 in 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.
As 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 our reporter.
"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."
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