Chapter 518: Head start
On the afternoon of April 16th, Madrid, usually bustling, became even more noisy. The streets were packed with pedestrians and vehicles, and the roads leading to the northeast of the city center were completely blocked, extending from the Bernabeu Stadium all the way to the Sorolla Museum.
Countless anxious drivers honked their horns incessantly, but the traffic remained unmoved, which caused disdain and scorn from the bystanders passing by.
As a fan of Real Madrid for twenty years, Desantys took his two children on the subway to the Bernabeu to watch the derby. He said to his younger son as they walked, "Sunny, I told you we shouldn't drive. Look at these fools; they might not even make it to the stadium after the match."
His son rolled his eyes, saying, "You're right, but why did we leave so early? Taking the subway to the stadium only takes a little over an hour, and the game doesn't start until the evening."
Desantys replied, "Many fools have the same idea as you. As a result, the subway in the evening gets so crowded that you can't even get on, and it's prone to breakdowns and stops. I suffered losses a few years ago and missed the match because of it, wasting tickets worth thousands of euros."
"It's never wrong to leave early. Later, we'll go to the club's surrounding shops near the stadium." Sunny was speechless. He had experienced too few derbies compared to his experienced father.
"Although past national derbies were intense, they didn't reach this level," Desantys sighed. "It's Wang's arrival that has driven Madrid fans crazy, coupled with Barcelona's outstanding performance in recent years. The clash between the two teams is one of the highest-level matches in the world of football, and everyone is eagerly anticipating it."
"Powerful teams and players always need a backdrop. Come on, let's go witness this strongest Barcelona become the best backdrop for the Real Madrid dynasty!"
There were many smart fans like Desantys, all rushing to the stadium in advance. Meanwhile, the players of Real Madrid and Barcelona had already arrived at the Bernabeu, starting their final adaptation training.
The starting lineups for both sides were also announced. Real Madrid, with Benitez at the helm, deployed his favorite 4-2-3-1 formation, with Casillas as the goalkeeper.
The back four consisted of Pepe, Ramos, Ashley Cole, and Marcelo.
The double pivot featured Khedira and Diarra, while the trio in front of them were Sneijder, Di Maria, and Wang Feng.
Up front, Iguaín led the line.
The selection of the holding midfielder for the Galacticos had always been unsatisfactory. Logically, Gago was the orthodox choice, but the Argentine's performance had been somewhat disappointing, so Benitez had to keep him on the bench.
After the Champions League match against Tottenham, the club management found that Modric was very capable, so they planned to join the pursuit of the Croatian this summer.
As for Di Maria starting instead of Robben in such an important match, this was also the result of Benitez's careful consideration. After all, the Argentine winger's excellent performance was obvious to all, while the Dutchman had suffered from multiple injuries. Although his form was not a big problem, he was still a ticking time bomb.
On the Barcelona side, Guardiola's steadfast 4-3-3 formation was as expected, with Valdes in goal.
The backline consisted of Alves, Mascherano, Piqué, and Abidal.
The midfield trio featured Busquets, Xavi, and Iniesta.
Up front, it was Villa, Messi, and Pedro.
This was their strongest lineup, with former captain Puyol only able to sit on the bench due to his advancing age and declining form.
Both teams were well aware of each other's strengths and weaknesses, and with the outside world constantly hyping up the importance of this match, both sides played very cautiously after kick-off, probing each other and waiting for openings.
Barcelona controlled the majority of possession, while Real Madrid maintained a compact formation, not allowing the opponents easy access to the dangerous areas in the penalty box. Therefore, the away team could only repeatedly resort to corner kicks from the periphery.
It wasn't until the 10th minute that the first shot of the game occurred. Iniesta's diagonal pass found Messi, who swiftly shook off the defense and unleashed a long-range shot, but the ball veered off significantly wide.
Five minutes later, they launched another attack. Xavi's lofted pass found Messi, who deftly controlled the ball past Diarra's press and then swiftly entered the penalty area, releasing a chip shot before other defending players could close in, only to be caught by the vigilant Casillas.
Although no goal was conceded, Messi's breakthrough still caused a wave of exclamations from the home fans in the stands. Sunny, feeling frustrated, said, "Damn it, why are we being dominated by Barcelona? Their possession rate must be close to 80% by now. Where's our counterattack? Let's get it going!"
Although Desantys was also surprised, he tried to reassure his son, saying, "You're still inexperienced; don't be so alarmed."
Before he could finish his words, he suddenly widened his eyes, jumped up from his seat, and no longer maintained his previous calm demeanor. He started bouncing up and down, waving his hands while shouting, "Vamos!"
At this moment, his younger son had no time to ridicule his father's "overreaction" and was instead caught up in the jubilation like the surrounding crowd because Real Madrid had scored the opening goal!
Casillas quickly threw the ball to Khedira after blocking Messi's shot. The German midfielder then passed to Di Maria, who in turn found Wang Feng. With a few quick passes, the ball arrived near the halfway line.
The Chinese superstar, originally near his own penalty area to assist in defense, sprinted forward to join the attack. His speed had already been increased, so he dribbled the ball towards the opposition's half for a quick counterattack.
He first rapidly changed direction to shake off Busquets, then accelerated again to surpass Alves, advancing rapidly towards the edge of the penalty area along the flank.
At this point, the other attacking players of Real Madrid hadn't arrived yet, so Mascherano from the center quickly came over to block him, with Alves chasing closely behind. Wang Feng had to make a decision immediately.
The Chinese superstar calmly pushed the ball sideways with the inside of his right foot. The ball slipped perfectly between Mascherano's legs, catching the Argentine defender off guard. He hastily tried to stop and turn around, but his rush made it difficult to twist his body in time. He could only watch as Wang Feng cut inside into the penalty area.
The subsequent goal was a natural consequence. Faced with Valdes rushing out and Piqué sliding tackle, Wang Feng aimed at the far corner and calmly chipped the ball over the two, as it soared over them and nestled into the net at the intersection of the crossbar and post.
"Everything happened too fast! One moment, Barcelona threatened the Real Madrid goal, and the next moment, the momentum shifted. Wang Feng's speed left Iguaín trailing behind in the attack; he hadn't even reached the penalty area yet."
"I believe many fans didn't understand how he managed to get past Mascherano. Let's take a look at the slow-motion replay. Oh, he actually nutmegged him."
"This is a bit unbearable to watch. Under the sharp speed of the Chinese superstar, the Argentine defender appeared exceptionally clumsy, and his turn was as slow as an aircraft carrier."
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