"Damn it! This big guy has absolutely no sportsmanship!"
After the referee blew his whistle, Deco stood up, patted his shorts, and muttered a complaint to Xavi, who had run over to help him up.
The second half had barely begun, less than 10 minutes in, and Deco had already lost count of how many times the big, black guy who had only come on in the second half had knocked him to the ground. And every time this big guy fouled him, he always knew exactly how much force to draw. The fouls always happened at least 40 meters from their goal, and the fouls were always just simple physical contact, guaranteed to avoid a card!
“Looks like they’ve changed their tactics.” Hearing Deco’s complaint, Xavi stared intently at Alonso and replied, “Didn’t you see me get knocked down by Alonso a few times? In the first half, when he was defending me, he was at most Kaka’s length, but after the start of the second half, he started to use his body.”
Deco seemed puzzled by Leeds United's change in midfield tactics: "But we still have possession, and they haven't gained anything from it. What's the point of doing this?"
Shaking his head, Xavi also couldn't quite understand Leeds United's current style of play. He had a slight guess in his mind, but he wasn't sure: "Maybe they want to secure a draw? I don't know, let's just play like this for now. If there are any problems, the coach will remind us!"
As Xavi noted, Rijkaard also noticed the changes in Leeds United's midfield tactics during this period; they no longer sought to compete with Barcelona for possession in midfield.
When defending, Rivaldo will intercept the ball in Barcelona's passing lanes if possible, and if he can't, he will rush in and foul to disrupt Barcelona's attacking rhythm. When attacking, he rarely advances through the middle anymore. Rivaldo is now a passing machine in the middle, and the ball will stay at his feet for no more than two seconds before he passes it to the two flanks.
Looking at Li Shiguang, Rijkaard knew that this man had finally given up on going head-to-head with him in midfield, and Leeds United's style of play had returned to their most proficient fast counter-attack!
But is this useful?
Zambrotta and Belletti are both experienced players. Since Barcelona dominated Leeds United for almost the entire first half, the two full-backs didn't really expend much energy. They were perfectly capable of stopping Bale's attacks. As for Sneijder, speed is not his strong point!
Furthermore, this isn't the first time Barcelona has faced a team adept at counter-attacking. Wasn't Chelsea stronger than Leeds United last year? Yet, we still knocked them out.
Thinking of this, Rijkaard shook his head slightly, a contemptuous smile appearing on his face, suppressing the impulse in his heart to make substitutions after seeing Leeds United change their playing style.
But he still took advantage of Xavi's preparation to take a free kick, walked to the sidelines and called over Zambrotta, who was close to him, and told him to pay close attention to Leeds United's counter-attacks and not to give them any opportunities to attack behind the defense.
Interestingly, Li Shiguang managed to hear Rijkaard's thoughts, otherwise he would have definitely retorted.
Seriously, you still have the nerve to mention Chelsea from last year? You didn't say a word about Del Horno's red card, did you forget what Mourinho said? We played against you four times in two seasons, and whenever it was 11 against 11, you never beat Chelsea!
But Rijkaard thought of so many things, but he overlooked one point: Rivaldo, whom he regarded as a passing machine. He didn't think about why Li Shiguang didn't substitute Rivaldo, who now seemed to be of little use!
However, it's not entirely his fault. Apart from that unexpected assist at the start of the game, Rivaldo didn't have many standout performances.
Throughout the first half, he just wandered around the center circle, controlling the ball briefly when it came to his feet. If Motta rushed up to defend, he would immediately pass the ball back to his teammates to receive it. However, precisely because of this, Rivaldo's stamina was not greatly depleted, and he was still capable of fighting!
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As the game entered its final 15 minutes, Barcelona came close to scoring several times, but Schmeichel made several crucial saves to keep the score at 10.
Rijkaard also made some adjustments to the lineup. Just now, Eto'o, who replaced Saviola, received a cross from Messi on the right wing and took a shot, but it was too straight and was easily saved by Schmeichel.
Schmeichel didn't hesitate; after securing the ball, he immediately launched a long ball towards Toure in the middle.
High balls like these have never been a strong point for Barcelona's midfield, so Deco only made a slight interference behind Toure, who easily flicked the ball to Rivaldo behind him.
Seeing Rivaldo turn around with the ball, Motta immediately charged forward aggressively. In his mind, his old teammate would do the same as before, and would immediately pass the ball back to Toure or Alonso after seeing him rush up.
But this time, Rivaldo made a different choice!
Facing Motta, who had already rushed up to him, Rivaldo did not pass the ball. Instead, just like Ronaldinho in the first half, he flicked the ball with his left foot, creating a beautiful volley, and shook off Motta! Then he sprinted towards Barcelona's right half with the ball.
"Rivaldo! He also did a cowtail! He broke through Motta's defense!" Lineker exclaimed in surprise when he saw Rivaldo easily get past Motta. "Haha, there's a Brazilian in Leeds United too. He can do the cowtail too!"
When Rivaldo didn't choose to pass the ball this time, the Barcelona players were surprised, but they quickly reacted, especially the center-back Marcos and full-back Zambrotta who were stationed on the right.
Marcos made the first move.
Zambrotta followed closely behind, but after running only a few steps, he suddenly remembered Rijkaard's instructions. Looking up, he saw a white figure sprinting towards him along the edge of the road. He immediately stopped and tried to turn back.
But Rivaldo wouldn't give him that chance! When he saw Zambrotta lean forward, he had already adjusted his dribbling steps, and when Zambrotta stopped, Rivaldo had already passed the ball out!
"Watch out! Over-the-top ball!" The commentator at Camp Nou couldn't care less and shouted anxiously.
Like him, the fans in the stadium, watching from their vantage point, also saw Bale running alongside Zambrotta, and a deafening chorus of boos erupted throughout the Camp Nou.
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