Chapter 206 You didn't graduate from the Film Academy,...
After defeating Valencia away in the 33rd round of the league, Real Madrid will face Barcelona in the third match of their 18-day, four-game series, the home leg of the Champions League semi-final.
In this match, Mourinho continued to use the three-defensive-midfielder formation that had worked well against Barcelona's possession-based tactics, but the personnel arrangements were different compared to the Copa del Rey.
Casillas remains the starting goalkeeper. Due to Carvalho's suspension for accumulated yellow cards, Ramos will play as a center-back, partnering with Pepe who has returned from suspension. Marcelo will remain at left-back, while Arbeloa will fill the right-back position.
Of the three defensive midfielders, Fino and Alonso remain in the starting lineup, while the other key defensive midfielder, Khedira, has been replaced by Lass Diarra due to injury. The two attacking midfielders are Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká, with the towering Adebayor leading the attack.
Guardiola also stuck with his signature 4-3-3 formation, with Valdes returning to the starting goalkeeper position, Pique and Mascherano remaining in the center-back positions, Alves at right-back unchanged, and Puyol filling in at left-back due to Adriano's injury.
In midfield, Keita replaced the injured Iniesta, partnering with Xavi and Busquets. The front three, from right to left, remained Pedro, Messi, and Villa.
Once the live stream was connected, the commentator's enthusiastic voice rang out.
"Dear viewers, welcome to the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League semi-final, where Real Madrid hosts Barcelona. This is the third match between the two teams in 18 days of four games. The first two matches were the 32nd round of La Liga and the Copa del Rey final, both of which ended in victory for Real Madrid."
"In the El Clásico at Barcelona's home ground during the first half of the season, Mourinho opted for an attacking style of play against Barcelona, resulting in a 5-0 defeat. Mourinho, reflecting on his mistake, began experimenting with a three-defensive-midfielder formation, and subsequently won both El Clásico matches. In this game, Mourinho once again employed this tactic. How will Guardiola respond? Let's wait and see!"
After the match started, both teams continued to play their familiar style of play. Barcelona players penetrated the defense with short passes, while Real Madrid continued to defend and counter-attack.
The first shot of the match came in the 3rd minute from Xavi of Barcelona.
Puyol threw the ball in Real Madrid's half, Keita received it but was dispossessed by Arbeloa, and the two teams fought for it outside Real Madrid's penalty area. In the ensuing chaos, the ball flew to Xavi's feet, and Xavi volleyed it from 27 meters away from the goal.
The long-range shot was of high quality, but the angle was too straight, and it went right between Casillas's hands.
A minute later, Real Madrid retaliated, with Ronaldo also unleashing a long-range shot, which was easily caught by Barcelona goalkeeper Valdes.
After a brief period of probing each other, the players from both sides began to cautiously stretch the midfield.
For most of the time, Barcelona maintained possession, but under Real Madrid's pressing defense, it was difficult for Barcelona to penetrate Real Madrid's defense with short passes.
In the 10th minute, Barcelona, who were steadily passing the ball around in midfield, suddenly showed their fangs. Xavi dribbled past the center circle and suddenly passed the ball to Villa on the right wing. Marcelo was covering Busquets on the right flank, and Villa, who was unmarked, calmly controlled the ball and began to cut inside.
Marcelo and Pepe immediately moved to meet him, but Villa didn't enter the Real Madrid penalty area. Instead, he dribbled the ball along the outside of the penalty area towards the center. Real Madrid's central and defensive lines stretched out laterally inside the penalty area, ready for action.
As Villa dribbled the ball close to the penalty arc, he suddenly unleashed a shot that was both fast and sharp, catching Real Madrid's defense off guard.
The ball passed between Alonso and Ramos. Casillas scrambled to his feet and dived in the right direction, but missed the ball. Just as Casillas' heart sank, the ball grazed the left post and flew into the stands.
Casillas breathed a sigh of relief. That was a very dangerous shot; if Van Villa's shot had been a little more central...
Villa shook his head in disappointment outside the penalty area.
Casillas berated Marcelo and Pepe, saying they hadn't put enough pressure on Villa, allowing him to easily cut in from the right flank. Knowing they were in the wrong, Marcelo and Pepe could only scratch their heads and obediently accept the scolding.
After their first attack failed, Barcelona started passing the ball around in midfield again.
After the start of the season, Barcelona was invincible for a long time. Their 5-0 victory over Real Madrid in the first half of the season brought Barcelona's dominance to its peak. After a smooth run for most of the season, they were suddenly defeated by Real Madrid, who not only overtook them in the La Liga standings but also lost the Copa del Rey. This greatly increased the pressure on Barcelona.
In this match, Real Madrid intensified their defense, establishing a solid defensive wall in their own half and refusing to cross the halfway line easily. Even their sole striker, Adebayor, spent most of the time operating near the center circle. The Champions League semi-final is a two-legged affair, and Mourinho preferred a goalless draw at home, saving the decisive second leg at Camp Nou, rather than easily conceding an away goal to Barcelona.
This does not mean that Real Madrid has completely given up on attacking. Once Real Madrid gets the ball, they will immediately launch a quick counter-attack to catch Barcelona off guard with their speed.
This made Guardiola more cautious in this match. He instructed his players to keep possession of the ball tightly and not to launch hasty attacks that would allow Real Madrid to regain control, even if they could not penetrate into Real Madrid's half in a short time.
After a period of stalemate in midfield, Barcelona began to lure their opponents deeper into the territory.
Xavi, Busquets, Keita, and others made short passes while retreating towards Barcelona's backfield, then passed the ball back and forth about 15 meters from Barcelona's penalty area, hoping Real Madrid would attack.
Cristiano Ronaldo, eager to attack, indeed rushed into Barcelona's backfield, preparing to create shooting opportunities through high pressing. However, his teammates did not follow up, but instead continued to wait in their own half.
Ronaldo, fighting alone, was quickly outmaneuvered by Barcelona players through short passes. Ronaldo turned around anxiously and waved to his teammates, signaling them to press forward quickly!
Just as Adebayor was about to press forward, Fino called him back. When the ball is in the possession of the Barcelona players, Real Madrid only needs to focus on defense. Passing and possession are Barcelona's strengths. Why should Real Madrid use their weaknesses to compete against the opponent's strengths? Are they just asking for humiliation?
Moreover, rushing forward rashly will reduce the defensive density in one's own half, giving Barcelona space to pass the ball, which is a very dangerous move.
Fino raised his hand to indicate that the status quo should be maintained. At this point, Real Madrid needed to be more patient. After seeing Fino's gesture, his teammates obediently followed his instructions and stayed in place. Without support from his teammates, Ronaldo could only retreat.
In the first 20 minutes of the match, Barcelona had an astonishing 78% possession and a 95% pass completion rate, but most of this possession was ineffective in the midfield and backfield, making it difficult to pose a threat to Real Madrid's goal.
In the 25th minute, after their plan to lure the enemy in failed, Barcelona attacked again from the right flank. Xavi launched a long diagonal pass from the middle, still aiming to pull Villa to the right side of Real Madrid's penalty area.
This time, Marcelo was ready, leaping high to contest the ball's trajectory with Villa. In the contest, Marcelo gained the upper hand, heading the ball out of bounds with his forehead, and in doing so, slamming Villa to the ground as it landed.
Because Marcelo touched the ball first and then landed on Villa during the fall, the referee considered it a legitimate collision and did not blow the whistle.
Keita threw the ball to Busquets, who then passed it to Messi. Messi, under pressure from Alonso and Pepe, dribbled inside with difficulty and, just before reaching the penalty arc, played a through ball to Xavi, who was already inside Real Madrid's penalty area. Xavi, with his back to Ramos, took a shot, but the ball was once again caught by Casillas.
Casillas quickly got up and launched a long ball towards Barcelona's half, initiating Real Madrid's counter-attack.
Adebayor and Ronaldo made runs from the center and left flanks into the Barcelona penalty area. Kaká followed a few steps behind Adebayor, waiting to receive the ball. Fino received the ball near the center circle in Barcelona's half and delivered a long diagonal pass over the top, lobbing the ball into the left side of the Barcelona penalty area.
When Fino took the shot, Ronaldo was not offside; Pique was closer to the Barcelona goal. After Fino took the shot, Ronaldo used his speed to outpace Pique, get to the byline first, and control the ball smoothly.
After controlling the ball, Ronaldo did not choose to dribble inside or seek cooperation with other teammates, but instead took a long-range shot, which grazed the right post and went out of bounds.
Fino, who had already run to the vicinity of the Barcelona penalty area, patted Ronaldo on the shoulder and jogged back towards the midfield.
Cristiano Ronaldo plays a bit selfishly, but choosing to shoot from long range at this moment wasn't necessarily a mistake. Against Barcelona, speed is the most important thing in a quick counter-attack; any hesitation and Barcelona's defense would drop back, reducing Real Madrid's chances of winning.
Unfortunately, the shot was a little off, wasting a golden opportunity.
In the 33rd minute of the match, during a Real Madrid attack, Busquets collided with Alonso and fell to the ground, then directly wrapped his legs around Alonso's. Alonso immediately raised his hand to signal to the referee.
The referee ruled that Busquets had committed a foul and awarded Real Madrid a free kick in the attacking third.
The ball was on the left flank, about 10 meters from the center line, and posed little direct threat to Barcelona's goal.
Fino took the free kick, and Real Madrid executed a free kick combination.
After taking a run-up, Fino swung his right leg and unleashed a long-range shot, lobbing the ball into the Barcelona penalty area. Pepe got to the ball and headed it into the goal.
The ball was too far away. Pepe headed it but didn't put enough power into it, and it was easily caught by Barcelona's goalkeeper, Valdes.
In the 37th minute, Barcelona's short passing penetration was exploited by Real Madrid. Fino intercepted the ball from Keita's pass to Messi and immediately launched a long pass to Kaká. Kaká dribbled along the left flank at high speed and was brought down from the side by Alves just before reaching the outside of Barcelona's penalty area.
Kaka raised his hand to signal the referee, and after the referee jogged over, Alves explained to the referee that he had already pulled his leg back, shrugging to indicate his innocence. If Kaka weren't his national team captain, his next step would have been to accuse Kaka of diving.
After consulting with the linesman, the referee ultimately determined that Alves had committed a blocking foul. Kaká was hit from the side while running at high speed, instantly lost his balance, and fell hard. It was not a dive, but Alves did pull his leg back after the physical contact. Therefore, the referee did not issue a card to Alves, but only awarded Real Madrid a free kick.
Cristiano Ronaldo took the penalty, but his shot was blocked by Puyol.
Fino got to control the ball before Alves could reach it and continued shooting. The ball hit Mascherano and bounced out of the penalty area.
Fino and Alves continued to battle for the ball, while the referee, with his whistle in his mouth, kept a close eye on the two players' legs.
While they were kicking each other, Fino and Alves were also busy with their hands, pulling on jerseys, tugging at each other's arms, and shoving each other. Finally, Fino lost his grip and pushed Alves to the ground.
The referee's whistle blew immediately.
Alves covered his face and rolled on the ground.
Fino smiled helplessly. "You were already 25 when you transferred to Barcelona. You weren't a top graduate of La Masia Film Academy, so how did you learn to cover your face like that? Besides, I clearly pushed your arm."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you everyone for your support! [starry-eyed]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
