Chapter 450: Ultimate Control VS Ultimate Counterattack
Unable to immerse in the sorrow of the first round defeat in the Champions League, the return to Madrid's Galacticos will soon witness a focal match, the 34th round of La Liga, the century derby against Barcelona at the Bernabeu.
Looking at the current state of both teams, it is not an exaggeration to say that the outcome of this game will likely determine the league champions.
Barcelona is currently two points behind Real Madrid, and they must win this game to ensure a turnaround. Moreover, all the players still remember the shameful night at the Camp Nou last year, a tragic night where even scoring five goals couldn't secure a victory. It's time to fight back against the people of Madrid!
As the players from both sides stand on the field, the confrontational atmosphere reaches its peak. With the sound of the main referee's whistle, the game officially begins.
Barcelona takes the initiative to attack. The ball is passed to Alves, who promptly distributes it to Xavi. The latter then advances with the ball, with Messi, Eto'o, and Henry pressing forward simultaneously, not hiding their attacking intent.
Gago quickly moves to intercept Xavi, but the Argentine center-back easily deceives him with a feint, causing him to lose his defensive position, and continues to charge forward.
"Barcelona's attack reaches Real Madrid's half, watch this opportunity, passed to Messi, beautiful! A silky smooth dribble past the defender, how will he handle it in front of the penalty area? A diagonal pass to Eto'o, shot! The ball narrowly misses the post."
"The away team completes the first attack of the game, it can be seen that they have entered the state very quickly, while the Real Madrid players are slightly behind, come on, lads, let's pick up our spirits!"
As the game progresses to the 3rd minute, Robben dribbles along the sideline, with Busquets and Alves forming an encirclement. So, he passes back to the nearby Wang Feng.
But Iniesta suddenly makes a tackle, initiating a counterattack for Barcelona. After several passes, they successfully penetrate into the vicinity of the penalty area. Henry sends a back pass to Messi from the byline, who shoots with the outside of his foot from outside the box, just grazing the crossbar and flying out of bounds.
"Oh!" A gasp emanates from the stands behind the goal, all home fans are holding their breaths, that shot just now was too dangerous.
Tonight, Barcelona is more desperate than ever, not only focusing on extreme ball possession, but also immediately pressing to regain possession after losing the ball. Even the pace of the game has been accelerated. Every time the players handle the ball, they are more decisive and efficient. It seems that Guardiola has upgraded and strengthened his possession-based system again to deal with Real Madrid.
In the 17th minute, Iniesta once again intercepts Real Madrid's attack, swiftly passing the ball to Eto'o. The Cameroonian runs with the ball through the midfield, then passes to Henry on the wing.
Henry and Messi advance while completing a one-two on the side and in the middle, their low passes to each other are extremely accurate, making Marcelo, the retreating defender, unsure of whom to mark.
After advancing to the vicinity of the penalty area, Henry makes a sudden stop and crosses, Messi, near the penalty spot, shoots with his right foot and breaks through Casillas's fingertips, 0:1! Barcelona takes the lead!
After taking the lead, Barcelona did not relax but instead played more smoothly. In the 26th minute, they once again penetrated into Real Madrid's territory through quick passes.
Messi receives a through ball from Xavi in front of the penalty area, dodges Coentrao's pressure, then passes sideways to Eto'o. Although the Cameroonian is tightly marked in front of the goal, he still manages to push aside Mertesacker with his body and pass the ball to the other side.
Henry, making a run, once again breaches the Galacticos' defense, 0:2! The away team increases their lead!
On the sidelines, Schuster crosses his arms, the current situation is giving him a headache. The opponent, after a Champions League battle, still has such good physical and technical reserves. It's truly surprising.
To deal with such a strong possession-based play, extreme counterattacking tactics are probably needed. Wang Feng is the best executor, but the midfield and defense are exhausted, and the lack of effective support up front is also a problem.
To address this, the German quickly makes adjustments, substituting Higuain for Raul in the 35th minute to further strengthen defensive stability. Although the Argentine veteran's form has declined, his coordination with the existing defensive lineup can still provide decent reinforcement.
The first half ends without any change in score. Barcelona's possession rate once reached 75%, firmly suppressing the Galacticos, and the home team only managed one shot, courtesy of Wang Feng.
As the second half begins, Schuster replaces the more youthful Higuain with Raul, hoping he can make an impact on the counterattack.
However, Barcelona's players cannot maintain high-intensity play for the full 90 minutes, and the pace of the second half inevitably slows down, presenting Barcelona with an opportunity.
In the 67th minute, Iniesta and Xavi advance the ball through consecutive passes to the frontcourt. The latter sends a diagonal pass to Messi on the right flank.
At this time, the Real Madrid defense line is very deep, making it difficult for the Argentine star to pass to Eto'o in the penalty area. Consequently, he chooses to pass back to Iniesta.
But with a moment of hesitation, Wang Feng seizes the opportunity. The Chinese superstar suddenly slides in to intercept the ball on its inevitable path, successfully winning possession and passing it to Diarra.
After the successful interception, he quickly gets up and sprints forward, while Diarra sends a lob pass to the area near the advancing Higuain. The Argentine striker, ahead of Puyol, wins the first touch with a header and lays it off to Wang Feng.
Like flying swords, the two of them speed down the field, forming a two-on-three against Barcelona's defense. Most of the defensive focus is on the Chinese superstar at this moment. No matter when, he naturally draws attention.
Wang Feng's performance is also worth noting. Faced with the advancing Pique, he slightly decelerates, finds the right moment, lightly flicks the ball, letting it pass through the Spaniard's legs, a nutmeg!
After easily shaking off one defender, Puyol and Yaya Toure also involuntarily converge towards him, almost completely leaving Higuain empty on the other side. Seeing this situation, Wang Feng naturally seizes the opportunity, sending a curved lob pass from the edge of the penalty area.
The ball, not too fast but just right, hits the head of the rushing Argentine forward, rebounds towards the goal, although Barcelona's goalkeeper Valdes reacts quickly to make a diving save, the angle of the shot is too tricky for him to reach.
"Goal!" The ball is in! Real Madrid finally pulls one back, a header from Higuain!
"The Galacticos complete an efficient and fast counterattack, from Wang Feng's interception to assisting Higuain's goal, the entire process did not exceed 1 minute, and the number of passes is also countable on one hand."
"When Barcelona is waving the flag of extreme possession, dominating absolute ball possession and game advantage, Real Madrid responds with an extreme counterattack, showing them that they don't need too many opportunities to attack and score. One chance is enough to strike a deadly blow!"
"What will they do next? Can Real Madrid continue to seize opportunities to equalize or even take the lead again? Let's continue watching this exciting century-old showdown."
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