Chapter 724 We Bought It!

April 1st, April Fools' Day. …,

On this day, a peak showdown was taking place at the Bernabeu Stadium in the center of Madrid, the capital of Spain.

This is a focus battle that has attracted worldwide attention, because the two participating teams are the most entertaining teams in this season's Champions League, namely Real Madrid from La Liga and Southampton, the super saints from the Premier League.

As early as mid-March, when Platini's claws took out the small balls representing Southampton and Real Madrid from the glass jar, everyone was stunned!

These two teams have scored the most and second most goals in the Champions League this season.

But some people joked that this is quite consistent with UEFA's long-standing drawing principles.

That is to let the stars meet their old clubs!

Ancelotti still deployed a 4-3-3 formation in this game, with Diego Lopez as the goalkeeper, Marcelo, Pepe, Ramos and Carvajal as the defenders, and Di Maria, Xabi Alonso and Vidal as the three midfielders.

The front trident is Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema and Gareth Bale.

Among the eleven starting players, three are from Southampton, namely Carvajal, Vidal and Gareth Bale. It can be seen that the Saints' mark is deeply engraved in the bones of this Real Madrid.

Bielsa's team was equally unwilling to be outdone and still deployed a 4-3-3 formation.

The goalkeeper is Neuer, and the defense is David Alaba, Javi Martinez, Varane and Danilo.

The midfield is a combination of Modric, Toni Kroos and Kaka.

After the Brazilian superstar's impressive performance in the second round of the knockout match against Galatasaray, Bielsa continued to arrange him to start in this game, while James Rodriguez played the full game in the league last weekend.

When fighting on multiple fronts, proper rotation is a must; otherwise, the players will not be able to cope with the physical effort.

There were some adjustments to the front trident. Because Hazard was slightly injured, Bielsa did not include the Belgian in the squad, and replaced him with Suarez.

Ibrahimovic is in the middle and Chilean winger Sanchez is on the right.

It is obvious that Bielsa's arrangements are more based on experience.

The combination of Suarez and Sturridge in the Premier League is indeed very strong, but their performance in the Champions League is relatively average, and Sturridge lacks experience in the Champions League. On the contrary, Sanchez has more experience in this regard.

Although the players from both sides exchanged pleasantries before the game and were very close to each other, Kaka even walked into the middle of the Real Madrid players and joked with Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, Di Maria and others.

Gareth Bale, Carvajal, Vidal and others also came to greet head coach Bielsa and Southampton players. Their relationship seemed very close and did not become strangers because of the transfer.

But as soon as the game whistle sounded, both sides immediately gave it their all, and the situation was tense, as if they were determined to kill each other.

Although they were playing away, Southampton were not conservative at all.

Real Madrid, who played at home, were also eager to beat their opponent in the first leg at home, so they played very actively and proactively.

So, as soon as the game started, both sides fought very fiercely, with a fierce offensive battle back and forth.

But don’t be fooled by the fact that both teams are playing at a fast pace and fighting to the death. In fact, the playing styles of both sides are very targeted.

Southampton's three lines are relatively balanced, but problems still exist.

Because Bielsa insists on using a technical double defensive midfielder combination, the three lines have to be pressed as compactly as possible to avoid giving Real Madrid players too many opportunities to get the ball and attack the defensive zone of the defensive midfielder.

But the players of Real Madrid are generally characterized by their aggressiveness, especially Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, who are the type who need a lot of space to play to their speed advantage and impact.

Therefore, theoretically, Southampton is quite reluctant to face a team like Real Madrid.

But Real Madrid's problem is also very obvious, that is defense, especially the defense in the midfield and backcourt.

Xabi Alonso is not young anymore, and his running and defensive abilities have obviously declined a lot compared to when he was young. However, in the current Real Madrid team, he still plays as a single defensive midfielder.

Vidal’s joining has achieved a very important balance on both offense and defense, but it is still not enough.

Fortunately, Ancelotti's biggest discovery last season was that he successfully transformed Di Maria from a winger into a midfielder, and tapped into his contribution and role on the defensive end, allowing Real Madrid's entire midfield to achieve a delicate balance.

But on the defensive line, the two full-backs mainly actively make assists, and the central defender combination of Ramos and Pepe is like a runaway group. It is always difficult to be reassuring, let alone stable.

In the goalkeeper position, captain Casillas was replaced by Diego Lopez, which is not a big problem.

Therefore, Bielsa's game strategy is to attack.

Make your defense make mistakes through high-intensity front-court pressing and pressing, which is what Southampton is best at.

Ancelotti also took the same approach.

Because this is the Bernabeu Stadium, and with Real Madrid's usual style, as long as they can score a goal at the beginning, they will be sure to win the game.

Therefore, both sides started to speed up the pace and enjoyed the battle to capture the enemy.

The head coaches of both teams also appeared on the sidelines, keeping a close eye on the situation and making adjustments from time to time.

…

"Toni Kroos made a long diagonal pass and accurately found Sanchez on the right!"

"The Chilean winger is very fast. He takes the ball, cuts inside, and makes a lob pass..."

"Diego Lopez strikes out, beautifully, he gets the ball!"

"Southampton's attack was very fast, but Real Madrid's defensive players also reacted very quickly."

"Diego Lopez quickly sent the goal kick to Marcelo, and Sanchez immediately counterattacked on the spot!"

"Southampton seemed very determined to counter-attack, and Ibrahimovic also put pressure on the two central defenders in the middle. Ramos had no choice but to knock the ball back to the goalkeeper."

"Ibrahimovic was going to close down the goalkeeper and Diego Lopez kicked the ball to the right.

"Vidal returned to defense and competed with Kaka for the header, but neither of them got the ball..."

The ball went over Kaka and Vidal's heads and landed behind them.

Modric quickly came up from behind and intercepted the ball before anyone else.

This was the first time Vidal faced his old club after leaving the Saints. He was very motivated. At the same time, he was very clear about Modric's ability, so as soon as he landed, he immediately rushed towards Modric.

Kaka also ran away as soon as he landed, but he wanted to create a passing angle for Modric, while raising his right hand, "Luka, here!"

Modric didn't dare to fight Vidal one-on-one, because he knew the Chilean midfielder too well. If he was entangled by this guy, he would be badly injured if not killed. So he didn't wait for Vidal to get close to him, and immediately passed the ball to Kaka in front of him.

After Kaka received the ball, Xabi Alonso next to him also ran over to defend him.

But as soon as the Brazilian superstar received the ball, he took a step forward and accelerated forward.

Kaka accelerated and Xabi Alonso couldn't keep up.

Seeing that Kaka was about to leave Xabi Alonso behind, Carvajal and Ramos had to keep their distance and be ready to block Kaka's route at any time.

But Kaka was very calm. He glanced to the left and saw Suarez catching up like a ghost.

So the Brazilian star immediately made a judgment, and with his great skill and courage, he accelerated again and rushed towards the crowd with the ball.

As soon as Kaka sprinted, Xabi Alonso couldn't keep up, and Carvajal and Ramos immediately blocked him like goalkeepers.

But just when Kaka was about to enter the penalty area, he suddenly braked, creating a gap between him and the defensive player. After continuous adjustments with his left and right feet, he passed the ball to the left.

Suarez understood what he meant and quickly cut into the penalty area along the left rib and received the pass from Kaka.

In terms of reaction, Carvajal and Ramos's reaction was quick. They immediately threw Kaka to Xabi Alonso. The two quickly turned around and rushed towards the small penalty area. Carvajal even got close to Suarez at the first opportunity.

But who is Suarez?

A typical example of a shrewd South American player!

He seemed to have expected Carvajal to rush over, and he made another quick stop, dribbled the ball with his left and right feet, dribbled past Carvajal, created a gap, and then pushed the ball with the inside of his right foot!

The ball passed between Carvajal and Ramos, and along a straight line, barely hit the inside of the right goal post. After turning in a direction, it hit the goal, making it one to zero!

Suarez rushed out of Real Madrid's penalty area excitedly, opened his mouth wide with excitement and kept making strange noises.

The Southampton players around him also rushed forward and surrounded the Uruguayan striker.

In this goal, the cooperation of Southampton players was certainly wonderful, but more importantly it was the reflection of the players' individual abilities.

If Kaka had not been so skilled and courageous that he dared to dribble the ball alone, attract the attention of three defensive players, and then pass the ball to Suarez, and if Suarez had not been so cunning and smart that he could calmly make an emergency stop and adjust in the face of Carvajal, there would have been no angle for this ball to be shot.

Even if Suarez chose the near corner instead of the far corner, not to mention that Carvajal and Ramos had blocked most of the shooting angles, Diego Lopez was also stuck in position, blocking the only tiny gap.

If Suarez shot from the near corner, the ball would either hit Carvajal and Ramos, or be hugged by goalkeeper Diego Lopez, making it impossible to score.

But the truly top players have this ability to turn decay into magic, and they can rely on their own powerful strength to turn the impossible into the possible in such an impossible environment!

At this moment, the entire Bernabeu Stadium became deathly silent.

Countless Real Madrid fans looked at the group of players celebrating wildly on the field with expressionless faces.

That's not a Real Madrid player!

Yang Huan was sitting in the presidential stand of the Bernabeu Stadium. When he saw Suarez score a goal, he immediately jumped up from his seat with excitement, clapped loudly and cheered excitedly.

"That's wonderful, beautiful, Suarez! Wow!"

Florentino, who was sitting next to him, seemed to feel the pressure from the Bernabeu fans. He sat there expressionlessly, looking at the field below, with a bit of sigh.

Suarez and Modric, these two players were once favored by Real Madrid.

But Real Madrid had too many and complicated considerations at the time, which led to the two players being intercepted by Southampton.

There is also Kaka, the player who had been sentenced to death in Real Madrid, but became the hero of Southampton's Champions League this season. The attack just now further demonstrated his strength and vision.

Yes, Kaka is no longer the Kaka of the past, but his strength, awareness and knowledge are still there.

He used this assist to tell the Bernabeu Stadium that once caused him pain.

I am still me, but you don’t give me enough patience!

Thinking of this, Florentino felt like a fire was about to burst out in his heart.

By the time Yang Huan sat back in his seat with a smile on his face, Florentino had made a decision.

"Master Huan, one word, how much is Suarez? We'll buy it!"

"ah?"

Yang Huan, who had not yet recovered from the excitement of scoring the goal, was dumbfounded!

It turns out that there are people in this world who are richer and more willful than me!