Chapter 518: Hope for the Second Round
Remember it for a second.
In the Stadium of Light, all Benfica fans were silent. They watched the game on the field silently, while on the other side, thousands of Real Madrid fans kept booing Benfica, as if this was their home court.
Benfica fans were dissatisfied. Ordinary fans did not understand Koeman's all-out defensive tactics at all. They just thought that Benfica was passive, so at the beginning of the game, they continued to cheer for the team.
But just now, Koeman replaced Gomez with a defender.
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This scene shocked all Benfica fans!!
Gomez is the only striker of Benfica on the field. If Gomez is on the field, the fans can still tell themselves that the team is playing a defensive counterattack. Now the score is 0:0 and we still have a chance.
But now, Gomez has also left the field, so what reason do they have to think so?
Defensive counterattack?
The team has defense, but what about counterattacks? Relying on a group of midfielders who are better at defense?
This is obviously unrealistic, so there is only one explanation, that is, the team has not yet taken the lead, and head coach Koeman has completely given up the attack. Before the game started, the head coach set the goal of a 0:0 draw with Real Madrid.
This situation made Benfica fans unbelievable. This shameful style of play even made them feel ashamed, but this is the current form of the game, so what can they do?
They could only watch the game silently, suppressing their dissatisfaction with the head coach, and wait to see how this farce ended.
Such a game was an insult to Benfica. They felt that the team had betrayed its faith. However, in the Luz Stadium, as Benfica fans, facing this first Champions League semi-final for Benfica in the 21st century, they could not boo the team, as doing so would bring greater trouble to the team.
Therefore, Benfica fans can only choose to remain silent.
On the other side, Real Madrid fans certainly would not remain silent. Seeing the situation on the field, they even felt happy and excited. Yes, very excited.
No matter what, Benfica is also a top team, but Real Madrid had just played for 20 minutes away from home when the opponent gave up attacking and focused on defense. Isn't this a fear of Real Madrid's offensive ability?
They have reason to be excited.
Of course, while they were excited, they were also dissatisfied with Benfica's defense, because in the face of such an iron wall of defense, it was really difficult for Real Madrid to find scoring opportunities - even the omnipotent black-haired boy on the field encountered trouble.
Yes, Wang Li encountered trouble on the court, and it was not just a little trouble.
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It has to be said that Benfica's defense is better than that of Barcelona, Real Madrid and other teams. I am afraid that in the Spanish La Liga, no team's defense can be stronger than Benfica.
Wang Li's defense was the focus of Koeman's research before the game. After research and analysis, Koeman came to a conclusion - this black-haired boy cannot be defended, so he didn't think about anything else and directly chose the human wave tactic.
The human wave tactics were used to block Wang Li's route to receive the ball, and the human wave tactics were used to prevent Wang Li from dribbling past the opponent.
This kind of defense is very effective.
So Wang Li encountered trouble. Even if he retreated to get the ball, it was difficult for him to perform well in the frontcourt. When he approached the penalty area with the ball, 3 or 4 players rushed up directly, and then there were 3 or 4 players blocking the penalty area. There was nothing he could do.
In this situation, Wang Li knew that if he wanted to find an opportunity, he had to rely on his teammates.
Benfica made such intensive defense against him, so the defense of other Real Madrid players must be relatively weaker.
But one thing is that the reason why the iron bucket formation is so strong is not because the defense is very good, but more because it relies on the human wave tactics to block the goal, leaving the attacking players with no angles and opportunities to shoot.
On the field, although Benfica had several "free players" who were specifically responsible for marking people, in fact, most of Benfica's players were still in the penalty area, blocking the middle road, which made it impossible for Real Madrid players to find any chance to shoot when they got the ball.
After all, even if they have space to shoot, they don't have Wang Li's precise footwork. With only a tiny gap, they can't shoot.
It was another attack by Real Madrid. In the middle, Wang Li was entangled by several players. He had no choice but to pass the ball back to Robinho.
In this game, Robinho stood very far back because there were too many players in the penalty area and it was difficult for him to find opportunities with his physique. So, in the 31st minute of the game, Raul replaced Zidane and went to the penalty area to play as a center forward, while Robinho retreated a little further to look for opportunities.
Taking advantage of a gap, Robinho passed the ball to Wang Li again.
After Wang Li received the ball, he glanced at the penalty area in an instant, frowned, and then passed the ball back to Robinho. The latter dribbled the ball and tried to break through, but was almost intercepted as soon as he started.
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Then, David Beckham followed up and took the ball and kicked a long shot. The football flew out of the crossbar.
"Beep"
When Benfica kicked off again, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half. That just became Real Madrid's last attack in the first half, or a true portrayal of the entire first half.
"Luis, you will replace Cicinho in the second half."
As soon as he returned to the locker room, Carlo ordered Ronaldo to play and add a striker to the team.
Now Benfica has obviously given up on defense. Although Real Madrid's defense has always been not very good, Carlo still appropriately reduced one defender. Such an arrangement is actually a bit conservative, but Carlo is very steady. He is afraid that Benfica will have a chance to counterattack, so with three defenders, the players can still defend.
The safest way is to win by stability.
However, there was only so much Carlo could do. Benfica's defense was too tight. For a moment, he couldn't think of any good way to break the opponent's defense. After all, there were so many players in front of the goal, and whether or not to score a goal depended entirely on luck.
At this time, Wang Li was also thinking about how to play in the second half. He also wanted to look for opportunities in the penalty area. However, if he went to the penalty area, Benfica's defensive players would be more dense in the penalty area, which might not be worth the loss, because his header was much worse than other techniques.
However, Real Madrid really has no good solution now, and Wang Li can only try it.
On the other side, Benfica's head coach Koeman had been giving orders on the team's defense. He was very satisfied with the game in the first half. Anyway, his tactics were successful. Real Madrid had no way to score. They could only shoot from outside the penalty area or kick the ball onto Benfica players. This situation was worth being happy about.
But Koeman knows that this is just the beginning. At least in the second half, the team still has to hold on for 45 minutes and not give the opponent any chance.
In this format, the second half of the game began again.
At the beginning of the second half, Wang Li did the opposite of the first half and ran directly into the penalty area. As a result, there were three Real Madrid forwards in the Benfica penalty area: Ronaldo, Raul and Wang Li. These three people standing there were enough to attract the attention of all Benfica defensive players. So, just as Wang Li thought, Benfica's penalty area was really overcrowded, and outside the penalty area, there were almost no defensive players.
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In this situation, other Real Madrid players can only play in one way, which is to pass the ball into the penalty area.
It’s true that with this kick, Real Madrid’s chances of scoring increased greatly. After all, the penalty area was in chaos and Benfica’s defense could not be particularly tight.
At this time, David Beckham became the brightest person in the field. Every time he passed the ball, he could accurately find Wang Li's point, and then, it caused crisis to Benfica's goal again and again.
But despite this, there were too many people in the penalty area, and Wang Li's heading skills were poor. Even if he got the ball and shot again and again, the ball just couldn't get over the goal line.
In this game, the opponent's goalkeeper Moreto also performed very well. Many of Wang Li's headers hit the goal frame, but Moreto still saved them again and again. This scene brought a little comfort to the wounded hearts of Benfica fans, but also made Coman on the sidelines break out in cold sweats!
At this time, Coman was standing on the sidelines, his eyes fixed on Benfica's penalty area. He was afraid that he would hear the cheers of Real Madrid fans if he was not paying attention, because Benfica's goal was suffering from the baptism of violent storms.
If Real Madrid scores a goal now, all his plans will go to waste. In order to win, Benfica can only attack with all their might. In that case, the outcome is almost imaginable.
Now, Benfica's players still have some morale. Although their tactics also make Benfica's players feel depressed, at least they held on, which means they have a chance to win. But if Real Madrid scores a goal midway, it is conceivable that Benfica's morale will definitely fall to the bottom. Then what can they use to fight Real Madrid?
That almost means Benfica will be eliminated.
Koeman is well aware of the situation, so he is extremely anxious.
On the field, Real Madrid attacked again. After the ball was passed several times, David Beckham made a curved ball from outside the penalty area into the penalty area, and the ball landed right on top of Wang Li's head.
The pass was very accurate. Seeing where the ball landed, Wang Li couldn't help but give Beckham a thumbs up. He squeezed out a gap, jumped up and headed the ball easily - but the ball hit the head of a Benfica player and flew high out of the baseline.
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This shot is a true reflection of the second half.
Real Madrid has been trying hard to get chances to shoot, but Benfica's defense is too tight. This kind of defense that uses a lot of people is definitely the most troublesome. However, Real Madrid's offense is not useless. At least their shots have threatened Benfica's goal many times. Perhaps, what they lacked was just luck.
However, luck is elusive, at least that was the case for Real Madrid in this game. Real Madrid did not get any luck in the entire second half. The football was always floating around in the Benfica penalty area, but it just could not fly into Benfica's goal.
"Beep"
Under such circumstances, the game finally ended. Real Madrid drew 0:0 with Benfica away. This result was very unexpected, at least that's what the media thought. Real Madrid didn't score a goal, and the black-haired boy also didn't score a goal. People who haven't watched the game might think that Real Madrid's performance was unstable, but in fact, this was all because Benfica's defense was too good.
After the game, Wang Li's face was full of helplessness.
"They are really good." Wang Li waved his hand.
"They won't play like this next time, right?" Thinking of this, the Real Madrid players felt helpless.
This game was not boring. Real Madrid's offense was good, and Benfica rarely attacked. The game was completely a half-time drill for Real Madrid, but they didn't score a single goal. It was really puzzling.
When walking into the player tunnel, Wang Li unconsciously gave a thumbs up to the Benfica players. All the fans in the stadium saw this scene, but Wang Li was thinking in his heart that if they returned to the Bernabeu, it would not be so easy for them to hold on for such a long time.
What is the difference between home and away?
First, Real Madrid players are more familiar with their home court, even Wang Li, and he will perform better at home.
Second, the Bernabeu Stadium is different from the Luz Stadium. There will be at least 70,000 Real Madrid fans coming to watch the game. Under the cheers of these fans, the performance of Benfica players will definitely not be as good as it is now. As a result, the situation of the two teams will change drastically.
The most important thing is these two points. At the Bernabeu Stadium, Real Madrid players will have a sense of advantage in playing on their own turf. If the same game is played at the Bernabeu Stadium, perhaps it will be different.
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Although the game was rather depressing, the qualifying situation is still favorable for Real Madrid. After all, they drew away from home. Although they did not score an away goal, looking at the situation, Benfica is likely to continue playing like this at the Bernabeu, so at least in regular time, Real Madrid will have a win-loss record.
At the press conference after the game, many media focused on Koeman. What was different from the past was that this time Real Madrid head coach Carlo was left aside. However, Carlo just sat aside with a smile, watching the media constantly harassing Koeman, even the local media in Portugal did the same.
Most of them were dissatisfied with Benfica's tactics in this game.
For the Portuguese media, such a match was an insult to Portuguese football. They were beaten by the Spanish team and dared not attack. Spanish football and Portuguese football have always been rivals. In the eyes of fans and media, even losing is much better than playing so miserably.
"Koeman, are you playing utilitarian football?"
Among them, there was a Portuguese extreme media sarcastically asking, he even omitted the word "Sir".
However, Koeman was very straightforward. He said bluntly: "We are weaker than Real Madrid. They have a group of big-name stars, but what do we have? The opponent's No. 21 black-haired boy has the best skills in the world of football. I can't think of any way to defend him. I think no coach has been able to figure it out so far. So if we want to win, we must take people by surprise."
Koeman doesn't think he did anything wrong. In his opinion, victory is the most important thing. Let's not talk about his own problems. Let's just talk about the Benfica team. This is the first time in the 21st century that they have the opportunity to compete for the Champions League title. Now facing a team that is almost impossible to beat, of course the key is to do everything possible to win. As for the Portuguese tradition?
How much is that thing worth?
Maybe he is right. At least after Koeman's explanation, some Portuguese media kept silent because they could not come up with any reasons to refute it.
Although Benfica has eliminated Barcelona, Barcelona was beaten 8:0 by Real Madrid. How can they say that Benfica has hope of winning?
The most important thing is that until half a season ago, no team has beaten Real Madrid's main lineup. Many media have praised the current Real Madrid as "the giant battleship of the new century setting sail"
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Giant battleship, can Benfica stop it?
Even before the game, many Portuguese media themselves felt that Benfica had no hope, and the course of the game proved this, but no matter what, Koeman made the team draw with Real Madrid, and they still have a chance in the next away game.
“Maybe this guy can really lead Benfica to eliminate Real Madrid?”
This conclusion made many reporters feel incredible, of course most of them were Portuguese media, while other foreign media were extremely dissatisfied with Koeman, because this game prevented foreign fans from seeing Real Madrid score a goal, nor did they see Real Madrid's No. 21 black-haired boy score a goal.
They don't care about boring topics like 'Alan didn't score a goal for the first time', because Wang Li's strength has been recognized by everyone, they can't make fun of him, and letting the fans see Wang Li's performance is the most important thing.
But the annoying Coman in front of him could prevent this.
As for Benfica's possible victory? That has nothing to do with them. All they care about is Real Madrid's performance.
But no matter what, the game is over. After the noisy press conference ended, Carlo and the Real Madrid players flew back to Madrid and they began to prepare for the next round of the game.
On the plane, Carlo had been thinking about this problem. He had seen through Koeman's tactics. He just wanted to draw with Real Madrid and then win a glimmer of hope for Benfica through a penalty shootout. This style of play was indeed "very creative".
What Real Madrid has to do is to prevent this from happening. The team is very strong, at least much stronger than Benfica, and they don't need to take any penalties, which would be disadvantageous to Real Madrid.
"Perhaps, I still have to rely on this black-haired boy."
Faced with this "shameless tactic", Carlo was at a loss for a moment. He turned around and looked at the black-haired boy who was resting with his eyes closed, and still placed his hopes on him.
(To be continued)