Chapter 147 Overall

The second half began with the teams switching sides.

Barcelona's short passing combinations are becoming increasingly cohesive, while Real Madrid continues to counter Barcelona's possession-based style of play through pressing and counter-attacking.

Real Madrid's players played tenaciously, and despite not having the upper hand, they dragged Barcelona into a positional battle through frequent pressing and tireless running.

The players from both sides became increasingly aggressive, and just five minutes into the game, Lass Diarra and Barcelona's Busquets both received yellow cards for tactical fouls.

Guardiola, standing on the sidelines, stroked his chin, told Ibrahimovic to warm up, and substituted him for Henry a few minutes later.

Guardiola hopes that Ibrahimovic can act as a pivot in Real Madrid's penalty area, taking charge of attacking and combining with Messi and Iniesta to quickly convert attacks into goals.

Ibrahimovic's impact after coming on was evident, and Barcelona quickly broke the deadlock.

In the 62nd minute, Barcelona's short passing game came alive again. After a series of passes in midfield, the ball was carried into Real Madrid's backfield by Iniesta.

Albiol and Arbeloa both pressed forward to intercept, while Ramos's attention was drawn to Pique, who also moved up to challenge him.

Iniesta passed the ball from the center to Alves on the right wing. Alves keenly spotted Pepe's defensive lapse and headed the ball directly into the penalty area without stopping it, aiming for Ibrahimovic, who was unmarked at the far post.

Ibrahimovic volleyed the ball into the net at lightning speed, leaving Casillas with no chance to react.

1-0, Barcelona took the lead at Camp Nou with nearly half of the second half gone.

While Barcelona celebrated wildly, Fino, Ronaldo, Marcelo, Kaká, Alonso, and others huddled together, discussing their tactics after the kickoff. Time was running out; they needed to step up and seize the opportunity to equalize, or even take the lead.

Pellegrini, looking lost on the sidelines, is no longer a reliable option; they have to rely on themselves.

After the discussion, the group clapped their hands together, and Alonso stood solemnly in front of the ball.

The instant Alonso kicked off, Ronaldo, Marcelo, Fino, and Kaká launched a four-pronged attack from left to right, rapidly heading towards the Barcelona penalty area, with the four Barcelona defenders immediately turning to follow.

Cristiano Ronaldo sprinted along the left flank, while Marcelo, Fino, and Kaká cut to the left as they ran, causing Barcelona's defenders to instinctively squeeze towards the center and left flank. Before they could even react, a large space had been exposed on the right flank.

Alonso gently pushed the ball towards Ramos, then quickly retreated. Ramos received the ball and passed it back to Alonso, then turned and made a high-speed run down the empty right flank.

Alonso, having retreated, had created distance between himself and players like Keita and Iniesta, and calmly lobbed the ball to the left into the outside of Barcelona's penalty area.

At this moment, only goalkeeper Valdes was left alone in front of the goal in Barcelona's penalty area, too afraid to leave.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo sprinted towards the ball's landing point, while Alves and Pique chased after them relentlessly.

In the end, Ronaldo was one step ahead, winning the ball at the corner of the penalty area, and then, despite Alves' interference, passing it laterally to Ramos, who was unmarked on the right wing.

At this moment, Fino and Kaká had already led Puyol and Abidal into the Barcelona penalty area. Puyol immediately stretched out his leg to intercept, but failed to touch the ball. Abidal then abandoned Kaká and moved between Ramos and Valdes.

Upon seeing this, Fino braked suddenly and ran to the right rear, creating a support point for Ramos.

After receiving the ball, Ramos found his shooting lane blocked and decisively passed it back to Fino on the outside of the penalty area. Fino shot directly without stopping the ball.

At this moment, seven or eight players from both sides crowded into the Barcelona penalty area, but Fino aimed for an unobstructed shooting route. If nothing unexpected happened, the ball would pass through the right side of Busquets, who had just retreated into the penalty area, then pass between Kaká and Puyol, and go straight into the top right corner of the goal.

As Fino's shot came flying towards him, Busquets, for some unknown reason, raised his arm and blocked it. After the ball fell, he pretended to have blocked it with his chest and casually kicked it to Xavi, who was behind Fino on the left.

However, none of this escaped the referee's sharp eyes. Busquets' arm was clearly raised, which was undoubtedly a handball.

"Beep—" The referee blew his whistle and ran over.

"Oh dear, what a pity!" The Real Madrid commentator slapped his thigh in frustration. "Real Madrid's kickoff was absolutely brilliant, catching Barcelona completely off guard. First, they launched a four-pronged attack that broke down Barcelona's defense, then subtly left the right flank open for Ramos to follow up. Ramos's stealthy attack was brilliant. Alonso's long pass and Ronaldo's speed are commendable, and Cabrini's positioning was extremely intelligent. After noticing Ramos's shot was blocked, he promptly dropped back to support him, and the player who would launch Real Madrid's final attack changed accordingly."

"Who says Real Madrid is just a show by superstars? Who says Real Madrid is just a disorganized mess? Just look at this carefully designed kickoff, you can see the chemistry between Real Madrid's superstars! This should have been a sure goal! Let's see how the referee ruled Busquets' handball."

The referee showed Busquets a yellow card and awarded Real Madrid a free kick. Since Busquets had already received a yellow card for a technical foul on Ronaldo at the start of the second half, accumulating two yellow cards, he was sent off.

A deafening chorus of boos erupted at Camp Nou as Barcelona fans were furious with the referee's decision. "Why did you send off our midfield general? Referee, are you trying to ruin Barcelona?" they demanded.

Guardiola on the sidelines was furious. He felt that Busquets' brain must have been eaten by the colorful lizards in Güell Park, or at least the folds of his cerebral cortex had been licked smooth.

Real Madrid's players were also very dissatisfied; it was almost a certain goal, and it should have been a penalty, not a free kick.

But the referee seemed determined to find a balance; he felt that since Busquets had already been sent off, awarding another penalty was going too far. He stuck to his decision, pushing away the Real Madrid players surrounding him and urging them to get back to the game.

Real Madrid executed a free-kick combination, with Fino launching a high ball that sailed over the wall and dipped towards the far corner of the goal. Ronaldo's header was saved by Valdes.

When Ronaldo headed the ball, an unpleasant scene occurred: Barcelona fans used laser pointers to distract him. The broadcast footage clearly showed a large patch of green light covering Ronaldo's face, almost extending to his eyes.

Cristiano Ronaldo raised his hand to complain to the referee, who only signaled to the Barcelona coaching staff through the fourth official to restrain the fans, without taking any other action.

Cristiano Ronaldo stomped his foot in anger again.

Fino was also very angry. A sure goal turned into a free kick, and his own teammate was even hit by a laser. He even wanted to stomp his feet like Ronaldo.

At this moment, Alonso ran over to comfort him: "We still have time, Finney!"

Fino nodded heavily, smoothed his sweat-dampened hair, and re-secured the headband.

With a numerical disadvantage, Barcelona's short passing game became less fluid, giving Real Madrid more opportunities to hold the ball.

In the 71st minute, Real Madrid had another attacking opportunity.

Kaka passed the ball from the center, and Ronaldo broke through on the left wing. Due to Ronaldo's speed, Pique was completely out of position. As Ronaldo cut into the penalty area, Pique deliberately made contact, and the two collided inside the penalty area, both falling to the ground.

Cristiano Ronaldo immediately indicated that it was at least a penalty, but the referee ruled it a legitimate collision and refused to award a penalty.

In this dead ball situation, Guardiola substituted Toure for Keita, adding a defender to help secure the victory while playing with 10 men.

Pellegrini also substituted Higuain for Ronaldo, as Ronaldo had just recovered from a serious injury and had just fallen, and Pellegrini was worried about a relapse. This was a like-for-like substitution, with Higuain taking over Ronaldo's winger position.

In the 78th minute, Real Madrid intercepted the ball in their own half and launched another attack. Alonso made a brilliant pass to Kaká, who broke through the middle.

Because Higuain always likes to cut into the middle, often overlapping with Fino's runs, Fino simply drops back to midfield to support Kaká.

Fino and Kaká have always had excellent teamwork. Despite being intercepted by Xavi, Puyol, Pique, and others, the two quickly broke into Barcelona's half through a series of one-two passes and soon approached Barcelona's penalty area.

At this moment, the ball is at Kaká's feet. Barcelona's goalkeeper Valdes is on high alert, his mind racing to decide whether Kaká will shoot directly or pass the ball to Fino.

Alves and Abidal, remaining in the penalty area, rushed towards Kaká and Fino respectively, while Pique and Puyol also chased after them from midfield.

Kaka chose to pass the ball to Fino. Fino glanced at his teammates' positions. At this moment, Higuain was near the right post of the goal and was in an offside position. Marcelo, however, quietly moved up from the left wing.

Fino had an idea.

After Kaká's pass came over, Fino didn't receive the ball, but instead let it pass directly to Marcelo behind him, allowing Marcelo to finish the attack. Fino then turned around and blocked Pique's position, preventing Pique from diving towards Marcelo.

Marcelo received the ball and immediately shot, the ball heading straight for the near corner of the goal.

However, Valdes reacted quickly and caught the ball in time.

Marcelo's shot was of very high quality, and there's nothing to criticize about it, but the more so, the more regrettable it is.

Marcelo sighed in disappointment, and Fino went over and patted his fluffy hair in comfort.

Although they hadn't scored, Real Madrid had already built up momentum. Seeing this, Guardiola immediately instructed Barcelona to solidify their defense. If they could just hold on for the last few minutes, they would have the three points.

In the 83rd minute, Pellegrini substituted Raul for Arbeloa to further strengthen the attack, while Marcelo returned to the left-back position.

After Raul came on, Real Madrid launched several more attacking plays, but they still failed to score against Barcelona's tight defense.

In the second minute of stoppage time, Real Madrid launched their final attack.

Alonso's long-range lob pass pierced through Barcelona's dense defensive network and headed straight for their own half.

Fino outjumped Puyol on the left side of the penalty area to get the ball, and headed it into the box. Raul, back to Pique, jumped high, ready to head the ball.

Fino was already anticipating the goal, but Pique repeated his old trick, colliding with Raul just like he had with Ronaldo, and both of them fell to the ground.

The ball rolled to the ground and was controlled by Valdes.

Raul immediately got up from the ground and communicated with the referee.

"Sir, this was a deliberate collision inside the penalty area, and it ruined a sure goal. This should be a red card and penalty."

Pique, standing to the side, innocently defended himself, saying, "Sir, this was just a reasonable collision; I had no intention of hurting anyone."

The referee considered for a few seconds and determined that the collision was not a foul, just like the earlier ruling when Pique collided with Ronaldo.

The referee waved to Raul, glanced at the time, and blew the whistle to end the match.

Fino's first El Clásico in his professional career ended in a defeat for Real Madrid.

Fino finally couldn't hold back and stomped his foot like Ronaldo.

I'm not reconciled!

This shouldn't have been a defeat. Guardiola's passing and control were indeed impressive, but Real Madrid's performance wasn't bad either, especially in the last twenty minutes. Although the team's understanding was still lacking, Fino felt that these were the best twenty minutes that the new Real Madrid played; they started to play as a unit.

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The author's note: It's true that Ronaldo was hit in the face with a green laser by home fans during this match; it was captured on camera.

Thank you everyone for your support! High five! [cat paw][cat paw][cat paw]