Chapter 198 Stalemate
In the 12th minute, Barcelona's attack was once again thwarted in midfield, with Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, and Alves, who was making runs from the back to join the attack, only able to pass the ball back and forth between the center and the right flank.
Real Madrid players weren't in a hurry; their frequent passing was just a futile attempt to increase possession, which was pointless if they couldn't get the ball into the attacking third. For a moment, the midfield game became somewhat stalemated.
Fino carefully observed the positions of the Real Madrid and Barcelona players and had an idea. Fino turned to look at Alonso, and when Alonso looked over, he stepped aside to block Xavi and Iniesta's view, and made a hand gesture behind his back. Alonso understood and moved a short distance to the left, pretending to mark Alves.
Seeing this, Iniesta seized the opportunity to make a forward run through the gap created by Alonso, and Xavi's pass followed immediately.
Fino had been waiting for this moment. He suddenly darted into the ball's path, slid the ball to Alonso on his left, then moved forward past Xavi to receive Alonso's back pass and begin to organize a counter-attack.
Kaká and Khedira positioned themselves as two support points on the right flank, one in front of the other. Fino changed direction to get past Busquets and passed the ball diagonally to Khedira on the right. He then sprinted towards the Barcelona penalty area off the ball, preparing to receive the pass from the center. Ronaldo and Benzema also moved in from the left flank.
Khedira received the ball and immediately made a long pass to Kaká on the left flank. Kaká received the ball, turned, and made a solo run, quickly closing in on Barcelona's penalty area.
"Danger! Danger! Danger!" the pro-Barcelona commentator exclaimed. "Don't let Kaká into the penalty area!"
Puyol has already started, blocking Kaká's advance and launching a frontal assault.
In a 1v1 situation, Puyol was clearly no match for Kaká. Just as Kaká was about to break through Puyol's defense, Adriano, who was coordinating with Puyol, tackled Kaká from the side and brought him down.
That wasn't a clean tackle. Adriano not only ruined Real Madrid's excellent attacking opportunity, but also received the first yellow card of the match.
Real Madrid won a free kick near the edge of the penalty area. Ronaldo chose to shoot directly, but the ball hit Pique and bounced out before Iniesta kicked it to Busquets, and possession was transferred to Barcelona.
Seeing that they had lost possession of the ball, Real Madrid players retreated very quickly and soon established a solid defensive wall in their own half of the penalty area.
After a few passes by Barcelona players, the ball returned to the vicinity of midfield.
Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi began to make frequent short passes, attempting to break through the midfield defense composed of Khedira, Fino, Alonso, and Kaká.
After several unsuccessful passes, Xavi launched a high lob pass that flew over Real Madrid's midfield and defense, directly into the Real Madrid penalty area.
Pedro and Villa were originally positioned outside Real Madrid's penalty area line, parallel to Real Madrid's two center-backs. After seeing Xavi take a shot, the two of them both entered Real Madrid's penalty area. Pepe and Carvalho were already prepared and worked together to create an offside trap, thus thwarting Barcelona's attack.
The game remained in this stalemate for the first few tens of minutes.
Barcelona had a high possession rate, but with the combined attack of Real Madrid's three defensive midfielders and two attacking midfielders who often dropped back, it was difficult for Barcelona to penetrate Real Madrid's midfield with short passes. They could only look for opportunities by making long passes over the top. Meanwhile, Real Madrid's four defenders always adhered to Mourinho's requirements, either marking closely or creating offside traps, and never gave Barcelona any chances.
After Real Madrid gained possession, Fino and Alonso orchestrated long passes, with Ronaldo, Benzema, and Kaká making frequent and sharp counter-attacks. Guardiola was wary of these quick and effective counter-attacks, and Barcelona's defense was hesitant to push forward too much during attacks, which significantly weakened their support for the midfield.
Guardiola pondered for a moment and decided to temporarily abandon midfield penetration and instead launch attacks from the Alonso and Marcelo side. Right-back Alves began to frequently push forward, combining with Xavi, Pedro, and Messi in the middle.
In the 38th minute, Busquets made a mistake under pressure from Fino and Alonso, losing possession in Barcelona's own half. Fino poked the ball to Ronaldo, who was then brought down by Pique while making a breakthrough. The referee made no reaction, which drew a loud chorus of boos from the Bernabéu home fans.
After Ronaldo fell, Fino got to control the ball before Puyol could and passed it back to Marcelo. Marcelo was dispossessed by Alves while cutting inside, and Barcelona's counter-attack began.
Alves launched a long pass to Messi in midfield. Messi dribbled past Khedira and passed to Xavi on the wing. Xavi then made a direct pass forward to Pedro.
At this moment, Marcelo, who had made a forward run, had not yet returned to his position, so Carvalho quickly stepped up to cover. Pedro passed the ball across the penalty area to Villa on the left, and Villa raised his foot to shoot, but was tackled by the onrushing Casillas, who brought down both the ball and the player.
Barcelona players surrounded the referee, believing that Casilla deliberately lunged at Villa, ruining a clear scoring opportunity, and that it should have been a red card and penalty. However, the referee ruled that Casilla got to the ball first, and then lost his balance, bringing Villa down, which he considered a foul.
The referee's insistence angered the Barcelona players, who surrounded him and refused to disperse. Real Madrid players also joined in.
The referee was in a real bind. Officiating a high-stakes match like El Clásico was already stressful enough, and now his worst fears had come true. He pushed aside both teams, signaling for Casillas to take the goal kick and quickly resume play.
Most of the players had left, but Pique remained around the referee, arguing incessantly, which angered the referee, and Pique received a yellow card.
When Pique received his card, Ronaldo was standing nearby, a smile creeping onto his face that he couldn't suppress. He had been brought down by Pique several times during the match, with Pique escaping unscathed each time, while Ronaldo fell repeatedly. Ironically, Ronaldo got his revenge in this way.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Gerard Piqué were teammates at Manchester United, and their relationship wasn't bad. But now they're on opposing teams, so it's not the time to talk about friendship.
After Casillas took the goal kick, the ball was quickly passed to Fino. Against an opponent like Barcelona who is good at controlling the ball, penetrating through the middle is not a good idea. Fino directly launched a long diagonal pass. This pass was 50 meters long, crossing half the field, and was sent to the open space on the left side of Barcelona's penalty area.
The moment Fino took the shot, Ronaldo and Marcelo behind him had already sprinted away. Benzema held off Puyol on the edge of the penalty area, and Kaká also came to the left flank to receive the pass.
After Ronaldo caught up with the ball, he dribbled past Alves and shot directly, but the ball was saved by Barcelona's goalkeeper Valdes.
Marcelo was shown a yellow card for handball while battling Pique for the ball's trajectory.
This is the third yellow card issued by the referee.
The score remained 0-0 until the end of the first half, when the game entered the halftime break.
Judging from the performance in the first half, although Real Madrid was far inferior to Barcelona in terms of possession, their momentum was not weak. Real Madrid players executed the eight words "solid defense and sharp counterattack" very thoroughly, and Barcelona's invincible attack seemed to suddenly stall.
Although Real Madrid failed to score, Mourinho was generally satisfied with the performance of his players. The game against Barcelona was all about attrition; once Barcelona's energy and spirit were exhausted, it would be Real Madrid's turn to shine.
The stalemate between the two teams continued until the 54th minute when an unexpected red card disrupted Mourinho's plans.
It was Barcelona's attacking opportunity. Messi changed direction to get past Alonso's defense and passed the ball between Carvalho and Marcelo into Real Madrid's penalty area, where Villa also cut in from the left.
This turn of events was so sudden that the situation in Real Madrid's penalty area became extremely critical. In the ensuing chaos, Pepe first handled the ball in the penalty area and then pulled down Villa, who was about to shoot.
The referee immediately showed Pepe a red card and awarded Barcelona a penalty.
Pepe deserved the red card; the referee's decision was reasonable and compliant. Casillas made a token attempt to negotiate with the referee, but ultimately had to accept the outcome.
Messi took the penalty for Barcelona, and after stepping to the spot, he converted it, making the score 0-1. The home team was in front, and the away team was behind, giving Barcelona the lead at the Bernabéu.
After Pepe was substituted, Real Madrid were left with only ten men. In order to maintain the stability of the defense, Mourinho had no choice but to replace Benzema with Albiol, removing the center forward and replacing him with a center-back.
With Benzema off the field, Ronaldo and Kaká have an even heavier offensive burden.
Mourinho called Fino to the sidelines and gave new instructions to the three defensive midfielders. Khedira, Fino, and Alonso were instructed to run more aggressively, not only to contain Barcelona's midfield but also to organize quick counter-attacks more efficiently, aiming to equalize or even take the lead in the remaining time.
Fino took a sip of water to moisten his dry mouth, then spat it out. After Mourinho finished giving his instructions, he nodded and returned to midfield to wait for the kickoff.
Guardiola also used a substitution, replacing Puyol, who was suffering from a thigh injury, with Keita, while Busquets dropped back to the defensive position.
Keita is a versatile midfielder, capable of both attack and defense, with a powerful playing style and a decent long-range shot with his left foot. Guardiola hopes that Keita's presence on the field will further enhance Barcelona's midfield control and attacking prowess.
After Keita came on, Barcelona's midfield penetration became more threatening, but Real Madrid, playing with one less player, were not defeated. Under the guidance of Fino and Casillas, the ten-man Real Madrid not only kept the danger out of the penalty area, but also launched counter-attacks repeatedly.
In the 72nd minute, during Barcelona's attack, Keita and Khedira went head-to-head. Keita chose to pass the ball to Messi in the middle, but Fino had already anticipated Keita's passing route and, before Messi could receive the ball, darted out like lightning and took it away.
After exchanging passes with Alonso, Fino, under Alonso's cover, calmly launched a long diagonal pass, targeting Kaká on the right flank, and Real Madrid launched another quick counter-attack.
Kaká received the ball on the right flank, about 15 meters from the Barcelona penalty area. Under pressure from Busquets and Adriano, he managed to pass the ball to Marcelo, who was making a run down the left flank. After dribbling into the left side of the Barcelona penalty area, Marcelo was tackled from behind by Alves.
This was an absolutely dangerous move, and strictly speaking, a red card and a penalty would not have been unreasonable. However, the referee was cautious in issuing red cards and only showed Alves a yellow card, while awarding a penalty.
Barcelona goalkeeper Valdes was unhappy with the penalty decision and kept complaining to the head coach. He was also given a yellow card for his rude remarks.
By the 74th minute, this El Clásico had already seen 5 yellow cards and 1 red card.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the one stepping up for Real Madrid at the penalty spot.
Cristiano Ronaldo also scored, leveling the score for Real Madrid.
The score is now 1-1, and the two teams are back on equal footing.
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Author's note: Thank you everyone for your support! [cheering emoji]
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