Chapter 270: Dawn in Adversity
The fans of the Bernabeu applauded Casillas and thanked him for his wonderful save to keep the goal intact.
On the sidelines, Ancelotti smelled danger, he called Xabi Alonso over and whispered some instructions in his ear.
Let them pay attention to protecting the back line and reduce the number of fouls in front of the penalty area.
Xabi Alonso nodded frequently, and after returning, he quickly conveyed Ancelotti's opinions.
Ancelotti's adjustments quickly stabilized Real Madrid's defense. After blocking Manchester City's counterattack, they regained the initiative on the field.
Benzema changed his almost invisible performance in the previous game and performed very well in this game.
His running, pulling and passing in the frontcourt created many opportunities for his teammates Cristiano Ronaldo and Bale.
In the 27th minute, Benzema passed the ball to Ronaldo, who volleyed the ball and hit the goal frame.
There was a sudden sound of sighs at the Bernabeu Stadium, and countless Real Madrid fans held their heads in frustration.
Ronaldo was a little regretful, but still gave Benzema a thumbs up.
Just two minutes later, Benzema and Bale cooperated to assist the opponent to break into the penalty area and complete a shot.
Bale's shot was not as good as Ronaldo's. I don't know if he learned it from Nunez, but his shot at the far corner was ridiculously off target, wasting Benzema's quick pass.
Benzema shook his head secretly. These two guys’ shooting skills are not as good as mine.
I might as well do it myself!
In the 42nd minute, Modric began to control the tempo of the game, and Real Madrid's fierce attack seemed to finally stop.
However, just when Manchester City players breathed a sigh of relief for having withstood this round of fierce attack from Real Madrid, Benzema saw Modric look up and observe, and without hesitation, he made a smart counter-run at the front of the penalty area.
Modric also completed a straight pass almost at the same time, which just went through the gap between two Manchester City defenders.
nice shot!
Benzema secretly cheered for Modric's pass. After receiving the ball, he adjusted it, aimed at the blind corner of the goal and shot the ball into the goal.
The quality of this ball was extremely high. Joe Hart was really helpless and didn't even make a save before the ball went in.
Benzema felt it after he finished the shot. He looked up and saw the ball fly into Manchester City's goal.
He raised his hands high and was ready to celebrate!
However, the linesman raised the flag first and the ball was ruled offside, so the goal was invalid.
The slow-motion replay at the scene showed that Benzema started a little early and was half a body length ahead of the Manchester City defender.
Benzema and Real Madrid fans were all disappointed! Although the goal was ruled invalid, Benzema was not frustrated. He felt that he was in very good shape today.
If we keep playing like this, it's only a matter of time before we score a goal.
This ball scared Manchester City's defenders. They increased their defense on Benzema in the following time and did not give him any more chances to shoot.
The score remained 1:0 until halftime.
The Real Madrid players seemed very satisfied with the result and walked off the field talking and laughing.
On the Manchester City side, the expressions on the players' faces were much more serious.
Throughout the first half, Manchester City didn't have any good opportunities.
After the experience of the previous game, they thought they had figured out Real Madrid's strength.
However, Manchester City was surprised that Real Madrid played like two different teams at home and away, and the confidence of many players was shaken.
Pellegrini made some arrangements for the offensive tactics during the half-time break. They are now behind Real Madrid, and the defensive counterattack tactics certainly cannot continue.
However, the second half of the game proved that Pellegrini's adjustments did not have much effect.
Apart from Lin Quan's threatening shot relying on his personal strength, Manchester City hardly posed a threat to Real Madrid's goal.
On the contrary, Real Madrid's offense is becoming more and more smooth.
In the 57th minute of the second half, Real Madrid completed a steal in the midfield and Modric once again made a fatal pass.
For this ball, he did not look for Ronaldo and Bale, but found Benzema who was running in a fancy way.
Benzema's outstanding performance at the end of the first half made Modric full of confidence in him and felt that he was likely to give him a surprise.
Benzema did not disappoint Modric. He turned his back to the goal, picked up the ball and turned around. Before Kompany could block it, he volleyed the ball into the far corner of the goal and helped Real Madrid expand their lead!
The score became 2:0!
The total score was also rewritten to 4:3!
This time, Benzema took a special look at the linesman before celebrating, and when he saw that the linesman did not raise the flag, he celebrated excitedly! If Ramos' goal gave Real Madrid a certain advantage, then Benzema's goal now almost secured the victory for Real Madrid.
Due to the away goal rule, Manchester City had to score two goals to advance to the final! There were only more than 30 minutes left in the game. It was very difficult to score two goals against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu Stadium! This time, not only did the Bernabeu Stadium rang with warm applause, but also cheers. Under the great joy, even those who claimed to be successful people could hardly suppress their excitement.
Somewhere in the stands of the Bernabeu, Bayern coach Guardiola, who came to Madrid to prepare for tomorrow's match against Atletico Madrid, couldn't help shaking his head when he saw Manchester City playing so passively.
If it were him, he would choose to replace Yaya Toure with Fernandinho.
If Manchester City wants to turn the tables, they must take control of the midfield, otherwise Real Madrid's attack will only be one wave after another.
There is no point in defending one of the waves because Real Madrid's attack is endless.
Pellegrini also thought of this, although Fernandinho has not yet admitted his mistake to him.
But judging from the current game situation, the team needs him to play!
Thinking of this, Pellegrini looked at Fernandinho and asked the assistant coach to remind him to warm up.
When Fernandinho heard his name, he quickly jumped up from the bench, ran to the sidelines and ran back and forth along the field.
Obviously, he was ready to play.
Although he was still very dissatisfied with the head coach, he would not refuse Pellegrini's decision to arrange for him to play at this time.
Just when Pellegrini was about to make substitutions, Ancelotti took the lead in making personnel adjustments.
The Manchester City coaching staff thought that the opponent would stop while they were ahead and replace the defensive players to stabilize the defense, but after seeing the players they replaced, the Manchester City coaching staff were all stunned!
Instead of strengthening the defense, Ancelotti continued to strengthen the offense.
He replaced Isco with the angel wings - Di Maria! Di Maria and Fernandinho came on the court one after another, the difference was that one was an offensive player and the other was a defensive player.
Just looking at this substitution, it seems like Real Madrid is behind Manchester City and is leading, but the actual result is not the case.
Manchester City replaced Kroos instead of Yaya Toure.
Apparently, Pellegrini felt that Kroos did not perform well in this game, so he decided to replace him.
Guardiola was stunned when he saw the Chilean's decision.
Didn’t Pellegrini replace Fernandinho just to protect Kroos?
Why did Kroos have to be substituted? He couldn't understand this decision! After seeing the substitution card on the sidelines, Kroos was a little depressed, lowered his head and walked to the sidelines in silence.
He did not play very well in this game because Real Madrid's attack was too fierce, forcing him to take on a heavy defensive task.
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Kroos' defensive ability is not outstanding to begin with, and he has to face a group of top stars, so his defensive performance naturally does not meet expectations.
What's worse is that after wasting too much energy on defense, his performance on the offensive end was very poor. He failed to make accurate long passes like in the previous game.
Moreover, because Real Madrid players pressed him very fiercely, it was difficult for Kroos to play the role of a midfield metronome. He tried to control the tempo of the game several times, but each time ended in failure.
Being substituted early at this time inevitably made Kroos feel a little frustrated.
The team was trailing in the score and he was substituted. He could only sit on the bench and watch the game like a spectator, no longer able to have any influence on the outcome of the game.
He had a strong feeling that Manchester City would lose the away game and lose hope of advancing! Not only him, Lin Quan also had this feeling.
After Fernandinho came on the court, he successfully froze Modric.
But Di Maria became active again in the frontcourt. His cooperation with Ronaldo, Benzema and others put Manchester City's defense in danger again and again.
Time passed by minute by minute, and the score was still 2:0. What's even more unfavorable is that Real Madrid still had the advantage on the field.
This made Real Madrid fans confident that their team would win the game and advance to the final.
Then, the Bernabeu began to sing:
Come on Madrid! Noble and dignified! Come on Madrid! Go all out to win! Defend your noble white color!
…
Encouraged by the singing, Real Madrid players became more and more excited and active.
In the 73rd minute of the second half, Di Maria pulled to the wing and made two consecutive two-pass cooperation with Bale before reaching the front of Manchester City's penalty area.
Just as he was about to dribble into Manchester City's penalty area and complete a shot, he was suddenly tackled and lost the ball.
There was an uproar at the scene. Real Madrid fans looked closely and found that the person who made the tackle was not a Manchester City defender, but their number 10 Lin Quan.
Lin Quan had long observed that Di Maria liked to run to the left side, so he waited here specifically to guard against him.
As it turned out, his judgment was accurate, as Di Maria dribbled the ball inside from the left and tried to shoot.
Lin Quan was running towards the ball when he made the tackle. His action was very clean and he did not touch Di Maria. So even if the opponent made an exaggerated diving move towards Manchester City's penalty area, Lin Quan ignored him, got up from the ground, quickly passed the ball to De Bruyne, and then sprinted at full speed towards Real Madrid's half.
De Bruyne was also not affected by Di Maria who was screaming in the Manchester City penalty area. After receiving the pass from Lin Quan, he quickly made a straight pass, bypassing Real Madrid's midfield and passing the ball near the center circle.
This pass was quite beautiful, helping Lin Quan to get past the interception of Real Madrid's midfield! After receiving the ball, Lin Quan strode towards Real Madrid's half, getting closer and closer to Real Madrid's goal.
There was a burst of boos at the scene. Real Madrid fans were very dissatisfied with Manchester City, especially Lin Quan's actions.
They thought that he not only committed a serious foul, but also had no sportsmanship as he continued to attack when a player was injured.
However, the referee was near the scene of the incident and saw Lin Quan's tackle clearly. He knew that he did not kick anyone, so he did not call a foul and signaled that the game should continue.
Seeing the referee's decision, Real Madrid players panicked instantly.
The opponent had already crossed the half court with the ball, and most of their players were not in their positions.
"Quick, retreat!"
Vice-captain Ramos roared and rushed towards Lin Quan first.
He was closest to Lin Quan and planned to try to stop him.
If he really can't stop it, Ramos is prepared to use tactical fouls to stop Manchester City's counterattack.
Lin Quan was very clear about Ramos' intention and he did not give Ramos a chance to foul.
Seeing Ramos rushing over aggressively, Lin Quan kicked the ball behind Ramos, separated the ball from him, and avoided Ramos's steal! Seeing Lin Quan pass Ramos in this way, Bale, who was still slowly retreating on the wing, was stunned.
Why does this move feel so familiar? The Real Madrid fans at home have already sensed the danger of losing the ball. They booed desperately, trying to disturb Lin Quan in this way.
Casillas decisively chose to attack when Ramos was trying to steal the ball. There was space inside and outside the Real Madrid penalty area for him to run around. If he didn't attack and continued to stay in front of the goal, he would be waiting for death.
Rather than waiting to die, it is better to take advantage of this opportunity when Lin Quan passes Ramos and snatch this half ball with him! Casillas judged that he had a chance to get the ball, because in order to pass Ramos, Lin Quan kicked the ball far away, almost in the middle of the two! As long as he can get in touch with the ball first, he can destroy the ball! After seeing Casillas' attack, the fans of Real Madrid did not care to boo Lin Quan. They all stood up nervously, stretched their necks and looked at the court, waiting for the judgment of fate! Casillas' speed was already very fast, but what shocked him was that Lin Quan's speed was even faster.
The game has been going on for more than 70 minutes, and he still has such a speed!
Casillas' pupils suddenly shrank as he realized the danger.
I'm afraid I won't be able to touch the ball before Lin Quan!
So Casillas gritted his teeth and chose to use a tackle to try to destroy the ball.
Lin, give up. Even if we score this goal, Manchester City is still one goal behind.
But you will be seriously injured because of this shot, which is very unprofitable, so please give up! However, in Casillas' sight, Lin Quan resolutely raised his foot and kicked the football.
He didn't even hide!
(End of this chapter)