I think Real Madrid has not proven that they are now better because we have not seen the consistency of neat performance and also a combination of their two mainstay mbappe and also Vinicius.
Instead I think Barcelona this season must be recognized by all its changes and Hansi Flick as their new coach is successful enough to make a much better change for the performance of the Barcelona team even though they often cannot maintain their performance consistency.
Overall Real Madrid and Barcelona have a fairly balanced strength this season so that it is possible to occur in fierce competition in the race for the title, and the KUA of the team also has the same problem that is not able to maintain consistency so because it makes all possibilities possible for Barcelona or Real Madrid.
This your assertion of you thinking that Real Madrid has not proven to be better because you have not seen consistency in near performance simply shows that you are not watching Real Madrid games. And you saying Mbappe and Vini hasn't linked is further proof that you are not watching the team play, because if you were watching, you will definitely notice the difference between them now and the beginning of the season and also Real Madrid now and the beginning of the season.
It doesn't matter which one is better, as their position in the standings gives evidence of the better team. Although indeed, Barcelona looks better in the Champions League standings but that is still not a guarantee that Barcelona will be able to advance to the final match. So yes, for me personally Real Madrid and Barcelona are making good progress, because Real Madrid and Barcelona are in the process of building a team with a young squad. Although there are still some senior players, but the young players in their squad are still given playing time when the coach rotates for certain matches. Thus,they are making progress for the long term and it is a good way to make the team consistently compete in the top zone.