Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

"Leo, did you really fall down on your own just now?"

On his way back to his own half, Iniesta looked at Messi with some confusion.

If Messi hadn't stepped up to clarify, it could very well have been a penalty. With that penalty, Barcelona could have closed the gap with Real Madrid on the scoreboard, and then just needed one more goal to take the lead.

But Messi gave up this opportunity, which is really puzzling. Did he not want to reach the final and defeat Lin Feng?
"I fell down on my own. I'm sorry for wasting your assist. I promise I won't do it again next time!"

Messi did not regret his actions. If he had won that way, he would probably never be able to hold his head up in front of Lin Feng for the rest of his life.

He wanted to defeat his opponent through his own strength in a fair and square duel.

Although both teams had experienced the exhaustion of two consecutive high-intensity matches, Barcelona's possession-based tactics made it easier for them to take control of the game.

Between actively running and passively following, the latter obviously consumes more physical strength, and they have a certain advantage in physical fitness compared to the defenders.

Taking advantage of this, Barcelona launched a series of relentless attacks on Real Madrid in the second half.

In the 54th minute, Iniesta broke through the middle and was fouled by Diarra, giving Barcelona another free kick in a very good position in the attacking third.

Unfortunately, Barcelona lacks a top-class free-kick master.

After discussing it, Messi, Xavi, and even Alves decided that Xavi would take the penalty kick.

Xavi took a deep breath and slammed his right foot into the ball from 18 meters out.

His free kick flew over Real Madrid's wall of players, bypassed Casillas' outstretched hand in front of the goal, hit the inside of the right post, and bounced back into the penalty area.

Ramos reacted quickly, clearing the ball out of bounds with a long kick, denying Barcelona any chance to get a follow-up shot.

A collective sigh rippled through the away stands where Barcelona fans were gathered, while countless Barcelona supporters watching the game on television also let out cries of despair almost simultaneously.

So close, just a tiny bit more!

If the ball had moved even a few millimeters further in, it might have bounced into the net!

Harvey shook his head and chuckled, feeling deeply bitter inside.

He deeply regretted not practicing free kicks more diligently. If he could have improved his free kick skills to a high level, he might have won the ball.

While talent plays a role in free kicks, it places even greater emphasis on diligent practice. With enough practice, becoming a top free kick master is not impossible; his teammate Messi is a prime example.

When he first started out, Messi knew almost nothing about free kicks and hadn't even started learning that skill. But in the later stages of his career, free kicks became a very important scoring method for him—Messi's total number of free kick goals in his career is second only to Juninho, the top free kick master!
Before Barcelona could even lament their missed opportunity, Real Madrid's swift counter-attack was already underway.

In the 56th minute, Real Madrid launched a counter-attack into the attacking third. Lin Feng delivered a cross from the right wing, but Raul, under pressure from Yaya Toure in the middle, failed to connect properly. The ball bounced off the turf and slid past the goal. Higuain, who was following up at the far post, missed the opportunity to shoot because he was running too fast.

The Real Madrid fans in the stands were both angry and amused by this scene, and in the end, they could only sigh and say that the Barcelona players were really lucky.

Although Real Madrid's counter-attack failed to result in a goal, it served as a warning to Barcelona:

Real Madrid are not the weak teams that Barcelona has defeated before; they are powerless against Barcelona's siege.

If they make even the slightest mistake, Real Madrid could seize the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.

Therefore, Barcelona needs to carefully consider whether or not to allocate some resources to strengthen their defense in order to deal with Real Madrid's counterattacks.

On the sidelines, Guardiola frowned in thought.

Since suffering a defeat against Real Madrid at Camp Nou last year, he has adjusted Barcelona's defensive tactics.

When the team is on offense, there should always be three defensive players in the backcourt. Two of them can form a defensive line, while the third can move forward to interfere and buy time for teammates to get back on defense.

With this tactic, Barcelona rarely conceded goals against other teams in La Liga and even the Champions League, making it very difficult for opponents to break through Barcelona's defense on the counter-attack.

However, the drawbacks of doing this are also obvious: the absence of a full-back in attack reduces Barcelona's attacking threat.

Barcelona desperately needs a goal right now. Should they take a gamble and use the players who should be defending to attack?

Guardiola glanced at the time; the match had already reached the 60th minute, leaving Barcelona with only half an hour remaining.

Having thought this through, he finally made up his mind, turned to the bench, and addressed the forwards, including Eto'o, Pedro, and Gudjohnsen, saying to Eto'o:

"Eto'o, go warm up, the team needs you!"

Without saying a word, Eto'o took off his jacket, put on a vest, and began warming up on the sidelines.

"It seems Barcelona is preparing to make a substitution; Eto'o is warming up on the sidelines."

"They need two more goals to advance to the final, so bringing on a striker to strengthen their attack is a standard procedure!"

Eto'o is a very strong individual player. In addition to his speed, he also has comprehensive footwork skills. He can coordinate with his teammates in a small area and use his speed and agile positioning to find opportunities to deliver a fatal blow.

The African Cheetah is currently Barcelona's second-highest scorer and the third-highest scorer in La Liga.

If it weren't for the statistical monsters Lin Feng and Messi blocking his way, with his 30 league goals and 6 Champions League goals this season, winning the La Liga Golden Boot and the European Golden Boot would have been a piece of cake.

Seeing that the opposing team was preparing to make substitutions, Mourinho also arranged for his substitutes to go out and warm up.

Unlike Barcelona, ​​the opposing team desperately needed to score, so they chose to bring on attacking players.

But Real Madrid currently holds a lead, so their top priority is to solidify their defense. Therefore, Mourinho plans to make substitutions with defensive players.

In the 65th minute, both teams made substitutions simultaneously.

Guardiola substituted Eto'o for Keita, while Mourinho replaced Raul with Cannavaro.

Regardless of Barcelona's substitutions, Real Madrid fans both at the stadium and watching on television were somewhat puzzled by Mourinho's changes:

Are they planning to play with five defenders?

Five defenders greatly improve the protection of the flanks, especially the half-spaces, preventing Barcelona from exploiting the width of the field to attack down the flanks.

But isn't doing this too passive?
Real Madrid already lacked attacking players, and Lin Feng's positioning in this match was relatively deep, with most of his energy focused on defense.

With this substitution, Real Madrid's entire formation has truly become a defensive wall, making it unlikely they will pose any further threat to Barcelona.

This would allow Barcelona to launch a relentless attack on Real Madrid. Including stoppage time, there were approximately 30 minutes left in the match.

With their physical condition declining and their bodies extremely fatigued, can Real Madrid withstand Barcelona's relentless attack for 30 minutes?

Mourinho has completely lost his mind; his actions are tantamount to suicide!

Guardiola's substitution just now was very risky. It was only through the excellent cooperation between Keita and Yaya Toure that Lin Feng's performance was barely contained. Now, removing one of them could very well unlock Lin Feng's potential and increase Real Madrid's attacking threat.

Unexpectedly, Mourinho provided a brilliant assist. Real Madrid losing an attacking player significantly reduced the defensive pressure on Barcelona. With only Higuain up front, Barcelona's three defenders could easily shut them down.

Seeing Real Madrid make substitutions, many Barcelona fans were secretly pleased, thinking that their opponents had been tricked.

However, when Cannavaro entered the field and saw Real Madrid's new formation, they were dumbfounded.

"It's not a five-defender formation, but a three-defensive-midfield formation?"

"This is really unexpected. I thought Mourinho made this substitution to strengthen the defense, but it turns out it was to enhance control and interception in the midfield."

Not only were the fans caught off guard, but even the commentators from major TV stations were surprised.

After Cannavaro came on, Pepe did not stay in the penalty area, but was pulled out and positioned as a defensive midfielder.

Pepe's addition greatly strengthened Real Madrid's midfield.

Past experience has shown that a three-defensive-midfielder system is enough to strangle Barcelona's midfield and completely dismantle their midfield system.

In addition, Mourinho did this to relieve the defensive pressure on Lin Feng, allowing him to focus more on attacking.

So, on the surface, Mourinho's substitution was to strengthen the defense, but in fact, he was trying to strengthen the attack. It's just that his substitution was so deceptive that most people couldn't see his intention.

But who exactly is Guardiola?

He saw through the madman's plan at a glance.

Guardiola's solution was simple: move captain Puyol forward to coordinate with Yaya Toure and continue the double-man pressure tactic against Lin Feng.

At the same time, when defending, depending on the direction of the opponent's attack, Abidal and Alves should be moved inside into the midfield to make up for the lack of midfield numbers.

With this adjustment, Mourinho's intention to make substitutions failed to be achieved. Although Lin Feng's pressure on the defensive end was reduced, he still found it difficult to break through on the offensive end because he was targeted more closely by the opponent.

However, Mourinho is not in a hurry. Time is on their side, and as long as they don't concede a goal, everything will be fine.

Seeing Henry, 14 meters from the goal on the left side of the penalty area, forcefully turn and shoot low with his left foot, sending the ball directly into the goalkeeper's arms, Mourinho revealed a relaxed smile.

The opposing forwards are starting to get anxious, which is a good sign!

But his smile quickly faded!

In the 70th minute, Casillas launched a long goal kick in an attempt to launch a counter-attack, but the ball was not controlled by Real Madrid players and quickly fell to the feet of Barcelona players.

Puyol launched a counter-attack with the ball on the right side of midfield. Eto'o's low cross from the right was blocked by a defender's leg, but the ball remained at the feet of a Barcelona player.

Xavi continued his advance down the right flank, reaching the edge of the penalty area before aiming for Messi's position and delivering a precise lobbed pass.

The ball sailed over Thiago Silva's head, and Messi, having shaken off Cannavaro's marking, lobbed the ball into the far corner of the goal from 6 meters out at the far post with a somewhat unorthodox header.

1-1, Barcelona have equalized!

Messi, who scored the goal, didn't even bother to celebrate. He rushed straight into the penalty area, grabbed the ball, and ran back.

Messi's goal ignited the fighting spirit and morale of the Barcelona players. They cheered for Messi while urging their teammates to return to their own half to prepare for the restart.

Including stoppage time, they still have about 25 minutes to catch up with the final goal. There's still time, there's still time!

Just one more goal, one more goal and we'll beat Real Madrid and advance to the Champions League final!
On the sidelines, Guardiola and his assistants embraced each other excitedly, while the Barcelona substitutes on the bench were even more excited, jumping and shouting like cavemen.

The atmosphere on the Real Madrid coaching bench was much more somber; Mourinho saw the situation he least wanted to see.

"damn it!"

Conceding a goal at this point in time was fatal, especially since it coincided with a period when Real Madrid players were experiencing a physical plateau.

The key point is that he conceded a goal right after making the substitution.

Cannavaro may not have even adapted to the rhythm of the game yet, and he's already being blamed for conceding a goal.

Mourinho regretted it; he felt he shouldn't have trusted Cannavaro.

Although the opponent is a Ballon d'Or winner, he is indeed too old, and his form has declined significantly this season.

Making forced adjustments when there are no problems with the team's defense may not be a wise choice.

But there's no going back in life. What's done is done, and there's no point in dwelling on it or blaming the players.

Instead of wasting time on this, you should think about what to do next!
Real Madrid were initially leading by one goal, but now the opponent has equalized, and their lead is now only secured by away goals.

With more than 20 minutes left in the game, we must hold on for these last 20 minutes and not concede another goal.

If Real Madrid concedes another goal, they will not only fall behind on aggregate, but their away goals advantage will also be wiped out. Even if they equalize, the game will be forced into extra time.

Judging from the second half, Real Madrid was at a disadvantage in terms of physical fitness.

If Real Madrid cannot end the game within 90 minutes and it goes into extra time, their chances of survival are extremely slim, and they will be eliminated.

This absolutely cannot be allowed to happen; we must find a way to stop it!

But the opponent had just scored a goal and was in high spirits, and had also brought on the energetic Eto'o.

At this point, sending the team forward to attack would be tantamount to suicide.

But to simply take a beating without fighting back is tantamount to handing your fate over to your opponent.

Mourinho was caught in a dilemma. (End of Chapter)