Chapter 268 32 Real Madrid, see you in Madrid in the next round!

The second half of the game was very strange. It didn't look like a Champions League semi-final, but rather like the Spanish national derby between Barcelona and Real Madrid.

With a squad full of Spanish internationals, it was no surprise that City played a possession-based approach.

After the rise of Barcelona, ​​countless teams throughout European football have imitated and learned Barcelona's passing and controlling style of play.

However, Manchester City is probably the only team that can do almost exactly the same as Barcelona.

The reason is simple, they have Lin Quan! Other teams' imitations are superficial, and without Messi, the key link, they can't play the passing and controlling effect of Barcelona.

But Manchester City has Lin Quan, who is not very similar to Messi. They are simply cast in the same mold.

With him, Manchester City's passing and control system is at least 50% similar to Barcelona's.

In addition, Manchester City played two games against Barcelona not long ago, and personally experienced the power of Barcelona's passing and controlling tactics. The entire team, from the coaching staff to ordinary players, has a deep understanding of the passing and controlling tactics.

This makes it easier for them to imitate Barcelona's tactics.

So Manchester City at this moment does look a lot like Barcelona.

Seeing that the opponent was playing passing and controlling football, Real Madrid immediately became alert.

In the league, they have suffered a lot at the hands of Barcelona.

As Real Madrid took the initiative to retreat, Manchester City took advantage of the passing and controlling football and gradually took the initiative on the field.

Gradually, Manchester City's possession rate began to increase rapidly.

From the first half where both sides were evenly matched, it gradually became the case that Manchester City had more than 60% of the ball possession while Real Madrid had less than 40%.

But Real Madrid did not feel nervous or panic. They switched to defensive counterattacks and naturally gave up possession of the ball.

For them, as long as they can seize the opponent's offensive mistakes, steal the ball during the tactical defense and then launch a successful counterattack, their goal will be achieved.

As for ball possession rate, no matter how high the number is, can we win the game?

If we can't win, isn't everything just a passing cloud? Thinking of this, Real Madrid's players patiently organized their defense and strangled Manchester City's players in the midfield, trying to seize the opponent's mistakes to counterattack.

The fight between the two sides in the midfield immediately became fierce!

Unlike Barcelona's midfield, Manchester City's midfielders have a lower average age. The oldest, Yaya Toure, is only 31 years old and is at his peak.

Kroos, De Bruyne and others are generally younger, so they should have the advantage in the midfield battle.

However, Modric of Real Madrid has become more and more active after passing the initial adaptation stage.

In the 76th minute, Modric completed a steal and made a long pass to find Bale on the wing.

The Great Sage once again completed a lightning-fast breakthrough from the wing, but unfortunately the final shot was slightly off the goal, otherwise Real Madrid would have equalized the score.

Manchester City was shocked by Real Madrid's counterattack, and Pellegrini couldn't help but frown.

Although he had seen the threat of Modric before the game, he specially arranged for Yaya Toure to guard him.

But now it seems that it has not achieved the effect I expected.

The 29-year-old Modric has already entered his prime! He is the metronome of Real Madrid's midfield. He not only has superb organizational and advancement abilities, but also has abundant physical strength, delicate techniques, excellent overall view and broad vision.

Modric has all the abilities that a top midfielder should have! Modric's performance on both offense and defense today was obvious to all. If Pellegrini were to give him a score, he would even be willing to give Modric the highest score on Real Madrid's side.

In Pellegrini's eyes, Modric is even more important than the two top stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Bale.

It is hard to imagine that such a small player with a height of only 172 can have such excellent defensive ability. His excellent running ability allows him to cover a large area on the court.

Whenever Manchester City launches an attack, he always appears in the most critical area.

Although this also caused him to be passed by Lin Quan several times and became a background board.

But being able to become a background board is a reflection of his defensive awareness.

As long as he doesn't meet Lin Quan, he can effectively help the team in defense with his defensive sense.

If Modric only had defensive ability, it wouldn't be a headache for Pellegrini.

But Modric is too comprehensive, he is not only strong in defense, but also has stronger offensive ability!

He is the organizer of Real Madrid and the metronome of offense and defense transitions.

Real Madrid's attack will become more threatening after Modric's organization.

Not to mention that if he passes the ball directly, it would be even more threatening!

Therefore, Modric must be restricted!

Thinking of this, Pellegrini took advantage of the dead ball opportunity to give some instructions to Yaya Toure, asking him to specifically mark Modric and let De Bruyne help him.

This adjustment has achieved some results, but the impact it brought is also great.

Because Modric has a large range of movement, he can advance to Manchester City's penalty area when attacking, and he can retreat to his own penalty area when defending.

This caused Yaya Toure and De Bruyne to be a little exhausted, and they unknowingly wasted a lot of energy on defense.

Yaya Toure is fine, but De Bruyne is the offensive organizer of Manchester City's frontcourt.

When he wasted his energy on defense, the help he provided to the team on the offensive end dropped sharply.

This resulted in Manchester City's attack in the second half being all hype but hardly posing any real threat.

Seeing this scene, Ancelotti breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the counterattack was unsuccessful, maintaining this result is barely acceptable.

When we return to Real Madrid’s home ground, let Manchester City see the true strength of Real Madrid!

Ancelotti had just come up with this thought when he saw Lin Quan relying on his personal strength to dribble past two people and then break into the penalty area and force a shot.

When Ancelotti saw Lin Quan shooting, he felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest.

Fortunately, Casillas made a very crucial save and resolved the danger.

Otherwise, Real Madrid would probably fall behind by 2 goals!

"Damn it, it's already 85 minutes, how can this guy still have such energy?"

Ancelotti glanced at the time on the scoreboard and couldn't help cursing under his breath.

Real Madrid and Barcelona have played against each other many times in the league, so the research on Messi is very comprehensive.

They know that players like Messi will consume physical energy quickly because of their high frequency of dribbling and passing.

Messi often walks around the field and rarely participates in the team's defense because he wants to save energy for launching attacks.

Based on their understanding of Messi and applying it to Lin Quan, everyone in Real Madrid subconsciously believed that Lin Quan would have physical problems in the second half, especially when the game was nearing its end.

After all, he not only participated in a lot of attacks, but also participated in a lot of defenses. At this stage, his physical energy consumption should be more serious than Messi.

Therefore, at this stage, Lin Quan should no longer have the physical strength to launch such an attack.

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But the reality surprised them! Looking at Lin Quan's breakthrough and passing, as well as the last shot against Ramos, how could he look like he had no energy? No, no, we can't let down at the most critical moment, we must strengthen our defense!

Thinking of this, Ancelotti immediately prepared to make substitutions.

He replaced Isco with a defensive player with the intention of strengthening the defense.

Isco was a little depressed. His performance in this game was pretty good, but the head coach wanted to make substitutions. He didn't dare to complain and could only leave the field obediently.

Real Madrid's substitution was a signal to retreat. After receiving this signal, the players began to devote more energy to defense and no longer put too much manpower into attack.

This made Manchester City's attack more difficult. Lin Quan could no longer rely on his personal strength to make a breakthrough, because the person Ancelotti replaced him with specifically targeted him, making it difficult for him to get the starting space.

Five minutes later, Ancelotti made another personnel adjustment. He replaced Benzema with a defensive midfielder.

This substitution was even more ruthless. Real Madrid's stranglehold in the midfield was further increased. Manchester City's offensive organization was a bit disrupted and the offensive threat was further reduced.

In the end, after 90 minutes of battle, Manchester City defeated Real Madrid 3:2 at home.

This result is barely acceptable to both Manchester City and Real Madrid.

For Manchester City, at least they defended their home court and won the game. Although the win was not big, it was a win after all.

For Real Madrid, they got an away goal and were only one goal behind.

Therefore, after returning to their home court, they only needed to score one goal to eliminate Manchester City.

This requirement is a piece of cake for Real Madrid, which has strong offensive capabilities.

So, when shaking hands after the game, there was no frustration or disappointment on Ancelotti's face. He shook hands with Pellegrini and chatted with him for a while.

On the field, although the players on both sides were a little unwilling, they could accept the result.

When the game ended, Bale immediately found Lin Quan and asked to exchange jerseys with him.

This was agreed upon by both parties before the game, so Lin Quan did not refuse and readily took off his jersey and handed it to Bale.

“See you in Madrid!”

Bell took the jersey, patted Lin Quan on the shoulder and said with a smile.

"Okay, see you in Madrid!"

Lin Quan also nodded in response.

C Ronaldo had not left the field yet and was drinking water on the sidelines. After seeing this scene, he snorted coldly, turned around and walked into the player tunnel.

Manchester City players did not leave the field immediately. Instead, led by captain Kompany, they walked around the field to thank their fans who came to support them.

The fans were very enthusiastic and were very excited about being able to beat the powerful Real Madrid at home.

Although the score of 3:2 does not seem ideal, it is enough to win. What else do we need? That is Real Madrid! At the press conference after the game, Ancelotti said that he could accept this score and firmly believed that his team would get a ticket to the final at the Bernabeu.

"Yes, I am confident that the team will advance to the final. We have a perfect record at home and I believe this time will be no exception!"

The reason why Ancelotti is so confident is not only because of Real Madrid's excellent hard power, but also because of their excellent record at home this season.

Real Madrid has played a total of 5 home games in the Champions League this season. Their current record is all wins, without losing any game, and almost all of them are big wins of more than 2 goals.

Although Real Madrid has a good record in away games, they are at their most terrifying at home! After the reporters interviewed Ancelotti, they found Manchester City's coach and asked him what he thought about the next game at the Bernabeu.

Pellegrini expressed cautious optimism: "My team is currently in the lead. After this game, we have tested the strength of Real Madrid. They are very strong, but not invincible. Our goal in the next visit to the Bernabeu is still to win the game!"

If it was before the game, Pellegrini's words would have basically no credibility.

But after watching the entire game, many people were impressed by Manchester City's strength.

Manchester City is indeed very strong as they were able to defeat the powerful Real Madrid at home.

However, everyone is not optimistic about Manchester City's victory over Real Madrid away from home! Home and away games are completely different experiences. Winning at home does not mean you can win away from home, not to mention that it is the Bernabeu! After the game, the bookmaker also immediately updated the odds.

Although Real Madrid is behind in the score, their odds are much lower than Manchester City. Obviously, the bookmakers are more optimistic about Real Madrid advancing to the final.

However, given the strength Manchester City has shown at home, the odds offered by the bookmakers are not too outrageous.

The odds for both sides are approximately 3.5 to 6.5, with Real Madrid having the upper hand, but there are also many who are optimistic about Manchester City.

After the game, major media reported the game as soon as possible.

"Marca": Real Madrid failed to capture the Etihad Stadium, but the two away goals were enough to satisfy Ancelotti. We are only one goal away from advancing to the final! "AS": Real Madrid only needs to win two more games, and they can lift their tenth championship trophy! "The Guardian": Manchester City defended the glory of their home court. They defeated the powerful Real Madrid, not only keeping the hope of advancing to the final, but also surprised those who looked down on Manchester City before the game! "The Times": For Manchester City, this score is not ideal. The next game to visit the Bernabeu is bound to be very difficult. They need to show their best state and go all out to deal with the next game! "BBC": 1 shot and 2 assists, Lin Quan used an explosive performance to take the overall lead in this contest of top stars. After this game, no one should doubt whether Lin Quan can stand shoulder to shoulder with the peerless duo. Now there is only one question, when can he get his first Golden Ball?

(End of this chapter)