Barcelona's defeat to Real Madrid came down to more than fine margins. It laid bare a tactical battle in which Jose Mourinho exploited the weaknesses in Hansi Flick's system, turning the Catalans' forward momentum into the perfect chance to catch them in the spaces they left behind.

The Portuguese didn't sit back and defend for the whole match. Nor did he let his opponent dictate the rhythm with any ease. He went at the contest with real flexibility, changing his pressing approach to suit the flow of play. Barcelona, meanwhile, paid for individual errors and poor handling of attacking transitions on a night when the gulf between tactical boldness and reckless momentum laid itself bare.

Mourinho's flexibility: a tactical trap to ensnare Barcelona

Real Madrid's most distinctive feature was their ability to shift between a mid-block and deeper zones, then spring into high pressing at the right moments.

They did not simply sit back and protect the penalty area. The aim was to control the spaces and force Barcelona's players into difficult decisions under pressure.

Flick, meanwhile, leaned on his usual high press and an advanced defensive line. Real Madrid knew how to beat the first wave. Once they slipped past the Barcelona players charging up to win the ball back, spaces opened up behind the defence, and breaking the press turned instantly into a direct threat on the Catalans' goal.

This was exactly where tactical flexibility paid off. Real Madrid didn't have to attack continuously. They waited for the moments to reach dangerous areas with the fewest passes possible, exploiting the gaps left by Barcelona's advancing players.

Their pressing, when they used it, looked organised too, especially from the final third. That marked a superb area of improvement for Los Blancos after months of criticism.

Balance: the keys to Real Madrid's superiority

Bernardo Silva's presence in central midfield handed Real Madrid a vital outlet under pressure. His composure on the ball and his reading of opposition movement made the difference. He did more than simply retain possession, dragging Barcelona's midfielders towards certain zones and prising open spaces to exploit out wide or between the lines.

Tchouaméni supplied the balance beside him. He secured the depth and kept the ball moving, which stopped Real Madrid from rushing the ball forward.

Rather than trading blows with Barcelona's press, Real Madrid built their attacks patiently and waited for the right space to open up.

Deploying Fede Valverde at right-back gave Real Madrid physical strength and pace on the break, plus the capacity to cope with the wide areas a Clásico always throws up.

His attributes let him keep pace with rapid transitions. He also offers extra flexibility when the side switches from defence to attack.

Jude Bellingham, too, proved central to keeping the ball under pressure from Barça's players, while also threatening the spaces that opened behind the defence. He found himself in more than one dangerous position, but failed to handle it as required.

Lamine Yamal under siege: Barcelona lose their most dangerous weapon

Shutting down Lamine Yamal was one of the keys to breaking up Barcelona's attacking system. The young winger offers a vital source of creativity and chance creation, particularly when he finds space for a one-on-one or a run in behind. Real Madrid, though, worked to squeeze that space and smother his freedom, with Cucurella marking tight and Diomande dropping back to help out defensively.

Collective cover, plus the work of the full-back and the opposite winger, blunted the threat of his movement.

Pressing the man on the ball and cutting off passing angles also stopped Barcelona feeding him in dangerous areas, dragging him away from the zones where he hurts teams most.

At the other end, leaning on Raphinha, with Lamine Yamal on the right and Gordon on the left, was never going to be enough on its own. The problem lay not in the names but in whether the system could deliver the ball to the forwards in the right pockets, especially once the opponent disrupted one of the key cogs and forced a change in the attacking routes.

Pedri's midfield spent most of the night unable to break through Real Madrid's organised lines. That was unusual. Most of the players simply never found their usual rhythm.

Flick's high defensive line: a weapon that turned against Barcelona

Barcelona's high defensive line lets them press in the opponent's half and squeeze the space between their lines. It becomes a weakness the moment they fail to win the ball back quickly, or when the opponent threads it in behind the defenders. Real Madrid set out to exploit exactly that, picking their moment rather than lumping aimless long balls forward.

Patience in building attacks sat at the heart of the plan. With players able to keep the ball under pressure, such as Bernardo Silva and Tchouaméni, Real Madrid could bide their time and wait for the right moment to slide a pass into the spaces behind.

Break through that first line of pressing, and the gap between the defenders and the goalkeeper opened up. Kylian Mbappé and Bellingham punished it again and again.

The danger ran deeper than just reaching the goal. It forced Barcelona to drop back at times and to hesitate over whether to keep pressing with the same ferocity.

So the weapon that hands Flick's side the edge in possession and control turned into a defensive gamble. It demands precise cover and flawless coordination across the back line.

Cubarsí pays the price: individual errors decided the Clásico

Real Madrid's tactical superiority made the difference, but individual errors in Barcelona's defence proved decisive on the night.

Pau Cubarsi found himself at the heart of it all after a series of passing blunders that Mbappe and the Madrid attack punished without mercy.

The first goal stemmed from a misplaced pass that gifted Mbappe a chance, the ball striking the Frenchman before nestling into the net.

For the second, Cubarsi was closest to a pass from the right-hand side of the penalty area but misjudged it. Substitute Camavinga pounced, squared it to Mbappe, and the striker made no mistake.

Those mistakes cost Barcelona the match. They also lay bare the fragile mental state of most of the squad after such a stunning start to the La Liga season.