Chapter 199 Why can't Real Madrid have a dream...?
The Bernabéu Stadium resounded with cheers and shouts from the home fans.
The Merengues still disliked Mourinho's counter-attacking strategy and the defensively-oriented three-man midfield formation; they preferred elegant, passionate attacking football. Mourinho compromised for this, but it proved he was right.
After the humiliating 5-0 defeat in the first half of the season, Mourinho was completely resolute. Whether it was towards Valdano or Real Madrid fans, Mourinho had only one attitude: I want to play a defensive counter-attacking style, I want to play with three defensive midfielders. If you have the guts, let Florentino fire me; if you don't, then just put up with it!
However, Mourinho received the support of Florentino Pérez and the dressing room.
For Florentino, playing beautifully is certainly important, but results are even more important. Mourinho is currently the most suitable coach for Real Madrid. In any case, we have to let Mourinho show off his best skills, right?
When the players were interviewed, their rhetoric was remarkably consistent: "We support Mr. Mourinho. Besides, we don't always park the bus. Don't we often score five or six goals against our opponents? What's wrong with playing a little more conservatively occasionally for the sake of victory and the championship?"
The Merlings were extremely frustrated, but there was nothing they could do.
In this match, Mourinho's tactics were very effective in restraining Barcelona. Even with 10 men, Real Madrid was still able to withstand Barcelona's attacks. The game may have been a bit tense and deadlocked, but who can say that Real Madrid's performance was not brilliant?
After the players fought back to equalize, the Merengues finally gave in. How bad could the game be compared to being beaten 5-0?
The Merleyans in the stands compromised, but Guardiola on the sidelines was very dissatisfied. A draw against 10-man Real Madrid was an insult to his football philosophy.
Guardiola used his substitution again, replacing left-back Adriano with the more impactful Maxwell to strengthen the attack down the left flank.
Mourinho also couldn't accept a draw, so he substituted the tall Adebayor for Kaká, creating a high point in the Barcelona penalty area to distract the Barcelona defense and build a bridgehead for Real Madrid's fast counter-attacks. Moreover, Adebayor plays a significant role in corner kick tactics.
As time ticked away, the stalemate made both teams impatient, and friction between them intensified in the remaining ten minutes of the match.
Seeing that things were not going well, the referee frequently issued cards in an attempt to calm both sides down.
In the 78th minute, Ramos fouled Villa off the ball and received a yellow card. Two minutes later, Maxwell, who had just come on, fouled Adebayor and was also shown a yellow card.
In the 86th minute, Barcelona launched an attacking opportunity, pushing forward aggressively, and the two sides once again found themselves locked in a stalemate in Real Madrid's half.
Barcelona players passed the ball around frequently, Xavi, Keita, Iniesta, Messi, Busquets... the ball was passed from one foot to the other, but they could never find space to pass it forward.
Even horses stumble, and people make mistakes. The excellent teamwork among Barcelona players doesn't mean they're infallible. During another short pass between Keita and Busquets, Khedira and Carvalho suddenly pressed forward, causing Keita to panic and deviate from his pass. Alonso received the ball and played a through ball to Fino.
After losing possession, Xavi and Iniesta immediately pressed for the ball back, while Busquets and others quickly retreated to prevent Real Madrid from launching a fast counter-attack.
Fino evaded Xavi and Iniesta's pressing, passed the ball forward to Ronaldo on the left front, and quickly ran towards Barcelona's half.
After his attack was thwarted, Ronaldo passed the ball back to Fino, who had already crossed the halfway line and was sprinting through Barcelona's half.
Fino squinted and looked ahead. Barcelona's defense had not retreated into the penalty area, but was positioned roughly parallel to Adebayor, who was standing outside the penalty area. Barcelona's goalkeeper, Valdes, was also positioned relatively far forward.
Fino had a sudden inspiration, adjusted his posture, and chipped the ball towards the penalty area with a lob shot.
As Fino took the shot, Adebayor, while looking up at the ball's trajectory, made his way into the Barcelona penalty area, while the Barcelona defense coordinated to create an offside trap.
"Cabrini launched a long pass from midfield, lobbing the ball towards the Barcelona penalty area, but unfortunately Adebayor was offside..." Before the commentator could finish speaking, he had already noticed something was wrong, "No, no, this isn't a pass, it's a lob!"
After reaching its highest point, the ball began to fall steadily, passing over the heads of the Barcelona players. Under Adebayor's watchful eye, it grazed the left goalpost, hit the inside netting, creating a white splash, and then fell onto the grass, slowly rolling out of the goal line and to Valdes' feet.
"Goooal! Cabrini unleashed a long-range shot from over 40 meters, Real Madrid take a 2-1 lead!" the commentator roared excitedly. "An absolutely spectacular world-class goal! Barcelona's defense relaxed after creating the offside trap, completely unaware that it wasn't a pass, but a lob! Goalkeeper Valdes had no reaction to the shot either, only able to watch the ball nestle into the net! So beautiful, this goal was absolutely gorgeous!"
After watching the ball go into the net, Fino clenched his fists and shook them in front of his chest, then waved his fists towards the fans in the stands. Before he could make any other celebrations, he was tackled by his teammates who came running over shouting.
The screams and cheers at the Bernabéu were deafening. After a dozen seconds, the fans' voices gradually became unified, and chants of "Cabrini" filled the entire Bernabéu.
Mourinho on the sidelines was almost frantic. After excitedly spinning around a few times, he jogged over to Guardiola. The fourth official immediately prepared to come over and stop the conflict, but Mourinho only let out a "Yo-ho!" and ran back.
Guardiola ignored Mourinho and looked at the celebrating Real Madrid players with a serious expression. He was increasingly wary of Fino's abilities.
Florentino, in the president's box, smiled and clapped, then turned to Zidane and said something. Zidane clapped and nodded repeatedly.
With almost no time remaining in regulation, Xavi approached the referee, demanding that the game resume immediately and that Real Madrid be prevented from wasting any more time.
The referee glanced at the time, walked over and interrupted the Real Madrid players' celebration, also rescuing Fino.
Fino got his face covered in his teammates' spit. He was about to pull up his jersey to wipe it off when he realized that after being tackled and rolled around by his teammates, his white home jersey was now stained with green grass juice and was filthy. He couldn't bring himself to do it!
Alonso seemed to understand Fino's thoughts, walked over, pulled up his jersey to wipe Fino's face, and then the two walked back to their own half with their arms around each other's waists, waiting for Barcelona to kick off.
The regular time of the game quickly came to an end, with four minutes of injury time added.
Barcelona's attack was almost frantic, but Real Madrid's full-strength defense kept the goal tightly sealed, giving Barcelona no chance to change the score.
In the second minute of stoppage time, Albiol fouled Messi outside the penalty area, but the referee, just like when Pique fouled Ronaldo, made no call. This angered Xavi, who believed it should at least be a yellow card and a free kick should be awarded.
Guardiola anxiously gestured to Xavi on the sidelines to stop arguing; time was running out for Barcelona, and they couldn't afford to waste it arguing with the referee.
However, Xavi, who was already caught up in the moment, didn't notice Guardiola on the sidelines and kept bothering the referee. The referee, unable to tolerate it any longer, issued Xavi the eighth yellow card of the match.
When the referee blew the final whistle, the score was still 2-1, and Real Madrid won their second El Clásico of the season!
The Bernabéu was completely transformed into a sea of joy, with Merleyans singing "Hala Madrid" to celebrate their hard-won victory.
Fino was overjoyed. Real Madrid had finally emerged from the shadow of being dominated by Barcelona and achieved a long-awaited victory in El Clásico.
This sets a good precedent for the next three El Clásico matches, doesn't it?
Fino put his arm around Alonso and Khedira and walked toward the fans' stand. He took off his jersey and threw it onto the stand, which caused a stir and a scramble among the fans.
Fino waved happily to the fans again.
The flashbulbs were going off frequently; it was rare to see Fino so excited.
The live broadcast camera followed Fino, who scored a world-class goal in the match, and when Fino took off his shirt to reveal his muscular physique, the camera practically zoomed in on his chest.
Fino's naked body was covered in a layer of moisture, making his muscles look even more beautiful under the light. A drop of sweat fell from Fino's hair, rolled over his collarbone, and slid down the middle of his pectoral muscles...
This scene was captured on camera and broadcast to countless homes via television. Countless fans watching the game hissed and then screamed upon seeing it…
The few seconds of video were quickly turned into a GIF, which spread online that same evening.
The topic of this match remains highly popular online.
After defeating Barcelona 2-1, Real Madrid accumulated 85 points, overtaking Barcelona by one point to take the top spot in the La Liga standings.
The conflicts and refereeing decisions during the match were also a major focus of discussion among fans. The referee issued one red card and eight yellow cards in total, with Real Madrid receiving one red and two yellow cards, while Barcelona received six yellow cards. Both teams' fans were protesting for their own teams, believing the referee had favored the opposing side.
In addition, the tactics used by both coaches, the performance of the players, Fino's world-class goal, and Mourinho's celebration by running up to Guardiola and shoving him in the face all sparked widespread discussion.
When Real Madrid proclaimed their "treble" ambition, many media outlets and fans ridiculed them for dreaming, arguing that Barcelona was stronger than ever this season. However, with Real Madrid's victory in El Clásico, everyone realized that Real Madrid wasn't just fantasizing; they genuinely had the strength to contend for the treble this season.
In La Liga, they have climbed to the top of the standings. In the Copa del Rey final four days later, they will face Barcelona again, whom they just defeated. In the Champions League, their semi-final opponent is also Barcelona.
Why can't Real Madrid dream of a "treble"?
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Author's note: Thank you everyone for your support! [heart emoji]
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